South Boulder (PR)

From South Mesa TH, Mesa, Towhee, Shadow, South Boulder; down the same.

Started at 5:59 am. With my recent PR improvements on Green, I've been wanting to see what I could do on South Boulder. So, I was planning to work hard from the start, yet not go out too hard. Ran a great time for me on Towhee, and this actually felt pretty conservative. I then went too hard on the road, especially on the steep hill. I was gasping for air as I rolled onto the flats. Not smart. Going up the canyon, I was paying for this, as I wasn't running sections that I ran during my 5/6 PR. I also found my mind wandering going up the canyon, which meant I wasn't keeping the effort high. Turns out I was 1:03 ahead of my 5/6 PR at the bottom of the canyon but only 0:10 ahead at the top of the canyon. Fortunately, there was a bit left in the tank. At the saddle, I really upped the effort, running hard and fast until I could no longer and then hung on hiking hard to the top. Enjoyed a nice break up top before jogging down on noodly legs. Ran into Sheri W and Kirsten near the top of Shadow.

PR up South Boulder by 47 seconds. Previous PR was 57:32 on 5/6/10. Initially I was a bit disappointed by my time, as I thought I had a chance to dip under 55, but I'm feeling good about the PR now.

0:00 - South Mesa TH
15:24 - Towhee/Shadow (0:38 ahead of 5/6 PR)
23:11 - Shadow/"Bridge" (1:03 ahead of 5/6 PR)
50:36 - top of Shadow (0:10 ahead of 5/6 PR)
56:45 - South Boulder (PR!) (0:47 ahead of 5/6 PR)
1:07:56 - started down
1:46:25 - South Mesa TH

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