So training has begun. Kind of, I guess. I've been out of town for work the entire month of April so far, so things have been hectic and exhausting. This past weekend I was in Palo Duro Canyon State Park for an event. Saturday was taken up by said event, but Sunday was our day to explore.
I woke up at the ass crack of dawn and did my first half marathon training run (about a week later than scheduled - oh well). A short two miles, but it was hard because I am fat and out of shape now. I did it on the Rojo Grande trail - a nice trail that was conveniently located within walking distance of my campsite.
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| This was the trail. Be very jealous. Also - not my picture, I definitely stole this off the internet. |
It had a couple of slopes that I slowed down for so I wouldn't break myself (both uphill and downhill) but it was really pleasant. I wish my park had trails that weren't filled with loose rocks and steep inclines. Oh well. My HRM's watch battery is dead so I couldn't time myself but I imagine it took about 25 minutes. The rock and dirt in much of the park is extremely red and rich in iron. By the end of the run, my shoes and socks were red, as well.
After my run, we went on a short guided hike. It was about .75 mile on the park's CCC trail. I learned a lot about Palo Duro's CCC history (which was great to compare and contrast to Davis Mountains), saw some cool plants and bugs, and enjoyed the views of the canyon. After the hike, we explored the Visitor's Center a bit & then had to head to the stables for our trail ride. It was so nice to be back on a horse. All we did was walk, though my horse decided to break into a trot a few times, but I had a great time. It is seriously beautiful in the canyon & a great way to explore is on horseback.
So clearly, after a 2 mile run, a hike, and horseback riding, we were ready for a nap. And nap we did. It didn't matter that the tent was hot as shit, we passed the fuck out for like 2 hours. We woke up rested and rejuvenated and ready for another hike.
This time we set out on the new Rock Garden trail. I don't know how new it is, but I imagine it's only a few months old. All the other trails in the park have markers at each tenth of a mile. This one had none yet. Those definitely would have been useful for us to monitor our time and daylight, but fuck it. We hiked all the way from the bottom of the damn canyon up to the fucking rim. It was pretty badass - not gonna lie. The view up there was amazing. Especially because we got there right around sunset (not amazing for the way down, though). We putzed around at the overlook for a little while then set out for the 3 mile return trip. About halfway down it got dark, but we weren't complaining. With the sun gone, the heat was gone. We used the flashlight to guide our way while simultaneously using it to find spiders (their eyes reflect the light, it's kind of creepy actually). We finally made it to the bottom around 9PM.
So, just to remind you how badass I was on Sunday, let's recap:
- 2 mile run
- .75 mile hike
- one hour of horseback riding
- 6 mile hike
We slept like babies, even in a tent in the cold on an incline.
I head back to FD tomorrow and then it's time to really find a routine with my training schedule.
