As planned, I was able to get out on Saturday for the group training run out at Antelope Island. It was an absolute blast! We met up at 8:00 am and after some chatting and a quick bathroom break, the group started right around 8:30.
First, we headed to the north end of the island to run the campground loop which makes up the last 6 or so miles of the race. I ran with my friend Scott and we took it really easy on this loop. The views were amazing and this part of the trail is one of my favorite! It consists of lots of technical trail and seems to have endless rocks to dance your way around. As much as I love smooth single track, technical trail is where I feel at home.
After completing the loop, Scott continued on the trail to tackle the next section which is the first 19 miles of the race. I went back to the car to refill my water bottle and to grab my other bottle as well (knowing I had 3 hours or so in front of me with no place to refill). I didn't want to let him get too far ahead of me. In my rush to get back on the trail, I forgot to grab my waist pack. Not a big deal since the only reason I wanted to carry it was for my camera. Come to find out later though, I left my salt pills in there as well... Oops! Scott saved me and hooked me up with a few later on.
I pushed it hard to make up some ground and finally caught Scott just before the top of the ridge. We then kept a nice, easy pace up to the location of the Elephant Head aid station. Upon arrival, we decided to do the loop first.
Scott's knee had been bothering him a bit, but he wanted to see this section so we pushed on. After descending down to White Rock Bay, we made over way over to climb the switchbacks. I could tell Scott wasn't doing too well, and at the top of the switchbacks he told me to go ahead so I could get the out-and-back section done. He would head back to the parking lot.
I pushed it hard on the out-and-back and did it in under 30 minutes. When I got back to Elephant Head, I saw Jun there and stopped to talked with him and his group for a few minutes. They started the descent back to the parking lot and I tagged along with them. They pushed it pretty consistently the whole way and it felt great opening things up!
We finally arrived at the parking lot and chatted for a few minutes. I couldn't see Scott, so I went over to the truck and there he was, slouched in his seat. He had finished about 40 minutes ahead of me! His knee was giving him fits so he took the shortcut back to the car. I felt bad! He was pretty bummed about his knee situation. Looking back on his splits though, he was right on his mph target even though his knee was not in a great place.
All in all, it was a good day out on the trails. Ran the 25 miles in just over 4 hours, which included all the stops. Really encouraging results for me! Saw lots of familiar faces and got to spend time running with others, which is always enjoyable! I left my camera at the car, but Jun has some pics of his group over on his blog if you need some visual stimulation :)
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