Tabeguache (9/9 - 9/11)

The trailhead, Tabeguache in Grand Junction

Friday afternoon I had some time to check out the Tabeguache trail.
This run had just about everything; good amount of vertical, technical rocky sections, sand pits, awkward diagonal slabs of rocks, and brightly colored lizards!
I really enjoy running on new trails and this was more than just another trail, it was literally an entirely different ecosystem. I was basically running through a desert filled with large rocks, small rocks, sideways rocks, ups and downs..etc


The majority of the trail is used my mountain bikers, and the "Caution, downhill traffic only" signs at trail intersections were a constant reminder. I must have seen about a dozen or so bikers on the trail, but I did not see any other trail runners out there. I was the lone person rock-hopping the trails by foot.

the trailhead looking out towards the mesa

In the above picture (if you look close) you can see the zig-zagging trail heading up towards the top of the mesa, located far off in the distance. This was the out and back route I took for the day.

It was about 87 degrees, and only about 20 minutes into my run I found myself chugging down all but about 6oz of my 24oz handheld H2O bottle. I backed off the liquid consumption and focused on enjoying the rocky climb up to the top of the mesa. The views were great, and I had wished I brought my camera with me instead of leaving it in the car. Ohh well.

Trailhead showing the numerous ups and downs throughout the landscape. Beautiful.

After taking a few wrong turns on the way back down (every intersection resembled the previous intersection), I was able to get back to the trailhead by looking up and locating where the parking lot was in relation to where I was, and proceed to take that general direction. There were a few times when I thought "I dont remember this huge rock I had to climb over to get up here..hmmm" and so I would proceed to turn around and eventually get back on course.
The trails were marked, I for some reason, somehow still took a few wrong turns.

I got back to the car and downed a solid 30oz of liquid goodness! This was a great run. Ankle felt pretty good on all the rocky, awkward, technical sections as well. Nothing hard, but was definitely focused on every awkward step my right foot took on the way back down.



...After running for 7 straight days after not running for over 4 weeks, I decided to take off on Saturday and Sunday. Which was fine because I plan to increase the volume of my training (and maybe intensity) a bit this week and I figure having a 2 day off period would be a good thing to start the week off fresh.

Saturday was actually a really fun day as we spent the better part of the day touring several different vineyards in Palisades. Wine tasting, picking fresh peaches off the trees, and fun times with friends...priceless!
Sunday was spent driving back home across the continental divide, and back into Ft collins.

Total Time: 1hr 34min (Friday)

Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF