A few weeks ago I skipped a track workout - 18 2oo's on the track - I'm not "in training" right now and Syd certainly doesn't need to run on the track - and opted for a run at Red Rock instead. Stunning sunrise that morning made it clear to me I'd made the RIGHT decision. That was, incidentally, the last good run I've had in about 10 days.
Until last Saturday, when the Herizon's group opted to run there and I convinced Jane that she, Syd and I should start at Red Rock and then run Section 16 - that WOULD have been a LONG and HARD run. Instead we played - we ran Red Rock - a new trail called Contemplative which is SO often how I feel at Red Rock - and the up the BFN hill that my group does hill repeats on (how nice to do it only once) - and then we explored. We did find our way up to Section 16 and after a short uphill stint decided to head down Intemann trail - a few detours including a frozen spring and the ALMOST missed frozen waterfall (I've never seen water there in the summer) made the exploration so much fun. We laughed at having missed the trail only to discover we were standing at the hairpin turn that kept us on the right track.
And today we did hill repeats up the BFN hill. They were hard; they hurt. But after Tuesday's miserable tempo when I couldn't even keep up for the warmup, much less get my heart rate into a tempo zone or my pace much below 9 minutes (I really CAN run much faster than that) I was feeling pretty discouraged. But Red Rock ALWAYS lifts my spirits. Always. Hill Repeats or not! And today I felt okay, maybe not great, but I felt like I belonged again.
It was the run I needed during 3 weeks of constant work to help me come out of my funk. Now it's back to the work.
And if you don't know Red Rock Canyon, www.redrockcanyonopenspace.org
