Yeah i get one!

I woke up this morning packed and ready to go. I had every intention of eating breakfast quickly and getting back to trail to get my miles in. I’ve got about 23 crushable miles before the boundary of Saguaro NP which greets me with 12 miles of climbing 6,000 feet. Just for reference, 500ft/mile is a noticeable incline. One may not say difficult, but it’ll definitely get the heart rate up. That is, if it’s just a mile. Doing that at an average for 12 miles means there’s going to be some tougher climbs there. 900-1000 feet of incline per mile is definitely not something comfortably maintained for more than a mile, and there’s definitely a couple stretches of that climb that are that grade.

As I woke, my face still wind burnt and hot, I heard the pitter patter of rain outside. I knew the forecast was for a day of rain. But something about waking up and living it made me say nope.

SO, to congratulate myself for not dying the first couple days, and getting through the first 100+ miles of the trail, that I would allow my body a true rest day.

Rationalization 1: a day of rain at higher elevation will be snow. So everything falling today will be fresh and soft and I’ll definitely be the first person crawling through it. If I wait a day, I give the snow time to either melt a bit, or if it stays cold, get crusty and crunchy and easier to walk on.

Rationalization 2: this is my first week of a new thru, and my body is definitely not yet used to it. I provided to myself with the 28 miler that it is capable and will be once again, and while I’m not feeling particularly sore at the moment, I want to be able to continue the pace and don’t want my body to get to a point where it NEEDS a break.

Rationalization 3: this is my adventure and I want a day off! :)

For 80% of the day, I didn’t stray 4 feet from my bed. But then I walked to the gas station for a few errands and got Burger King. I’m hoping to get at least two miles of the climb in tomorrow (for a 25 mile day) but that’s one the steeper parts, so we’ll see how I’m feeling after 23 miles. Hopefully fine after a rest day! Even more reason to relax for a sec. Oh, and clean clothes!