River Run

Distance: 2 miles
Time: 18:02
Location: Mojave River at Yucca Loma

Tonight's run made it 7 miles in 3 days. My legs are definitely feeling the toll of 3 straight days of running, and so tomorrow will most likely be a day off. Then I'm hoping to get a run in Wednesday before heading off to Switzerland for 2 weeks!

Tonight I continued my sampling of the runs around our new neighborhood. Saturday was Yucca Loma Road; yesterday was Apple Valley Road; and tonight was a run to the Mojave River. I was originally going to run a 3-miler that would have taken me out to the river and south along the river's edge down to Ottawa Road. But night began to descend and I was hesitant to run along the river at night when I don't know the terrain at all. So I shortened the run to 2 miles with the river as my destination/turnaround point. I enjoyed the run along Yucca Loma heading out to the river. Like the other runs Saturday and Sunday, there is a nice running trail along this road that makes the run much more enjoyable. The route goes by a school and then descends down to the Mojave River. When I got to the river there wasn't much light left. I was surprised by how lush it was near the river (it being the desert and all). Large trees and a ton of brush actually blocked my way to the river itself. So I had to view it from a distance. I walked around a bit just to check the area out. I determined to return in the daylight to explore this area some more because it seemed to be a very scenic place with lots of trails to choose from. I finally turned and headed back home, the run back being just as pleasant as the run there.

As far as my performance, it left something to be desired. My mile to the river was an 8:48 and my mile back was a 9:14, for a total 2-mile time of 18:02. It was not one of my better runs, but that was due to soreness in my legs. I felt really stiff the whole run, especially in my calves. But I was glad I got out there and checked out another promising route. I can't wait to really get to know all these runs well in the coming months.