since my running partner was tied up this weekend, i decided to get out to point mugu to test out the 18k course that we'll be running come october. i've been there before - only for shorter distances - so i wanted to get a gauge as to how difficult the added length is.
and... it's difficult haha. in all the other runs, we've managed to avoid cresting point mugu, so today was a different story. i resorted to power walking up part of the stretch before arriving at the base of the peak. from there, i think i took a wrong turn, because the path went straight up to the US flag adorning the summit. there's a path on the other side going down, but it's so steep that i actually went slower (didn't want to become a human boulder) down than up.
they join up on the other side, then i used my growing sense of feel and awareness to plot out which direction i was supposed to be headed. i finally connected with la jolla fire road, and from there it was another good 5 miles to paydirt.
the next 2M on the overlook trail were a fight to keep my legs churning until reaching the ray miller trail, a final 2.7M of breathtaking downhill. i tried to do another sub-7 min mile on the home stretch, but had to settle for 7:16 instead. the added mileage to point mugu peak definitely took a toll, as my pace was uniformly slower on each of the last 5M.
nevertheless, i completed the 10.3M run in 1:50:16, good enough for a 10'42" pace on a difficult track. amazingly, it bumps my mileage in the month of july to 80.99, which easily eclipses any monthly running output in my lifetime. the most encouraging thing about all this is that my legs and feet are still holding up - with no pain or joint issues to speak of - for the moment.
i have the bulldog 25K trail race in exactly 4 weeks...
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