Running the 'Stow

Distance: 2 miles (roughly)
Time: 19:52

I ran today in Barstow. For cross-country practice today I had the runners do mile repeats on an all-dirt, hilly course out in the desert. It was a fun practice, and watching the runners run up and down those hills out in the scenic Mojave made me want to get out there too! So I decided I would. After practice, once all the runners left, I started stretching and getting ready to run the very route I just had my team run. (It's actually an idea I may use again). The course consisted of one mile-long loop. I was having my runners stop and take a 5-minute break between miles, but since I'm still doing 2 miles, I decided to run two straight loops for myself.

I knew the run was going to be challenging, and I was right. The whole course was on narrow dirt roads, normally used for dirt bikes and other off-road vehicles. At times the dirt became soft, almost like a sandbox, and of course this made for difficult running. Plus there were the hills. I really haven't incorporated hills into my workouts yet, so I was really feeling the burn in my thighs. There were several small hills, plus one long and steady hill that rose slowly and never seemed to end, and a hill at the end of the loop that was quite steep. Luckily the hills didn't kill me, and the downhills felt pretty good (except I haven't run a lot of downhills either, so I took them kind of sloppy). In the end, I finished with a 19:52, obviously much slower than the other runs this week, but considering the terrain, I was actually very pleased with my time. I can recall a couple of flat, street runs with slower times than that. So today's run is a sign of improvement.

It was nice to be able to run up in Barstow, in a different section of the Mojave than I'm used to. I'd like to eventually get to the point where I'm able to run in a variety of locales: beaches, mountains, open countryside. For now, though, it appears I've become a desert runner.