Last week, the terrain at Cedar Ridge was even more tough due to the mud. In fact, my shoes reflected this at the start of this week’s workout. I hope the people at the gas station down in Hutchins didn’t mind the loose dirt and mud that came off my shoes.

We looped around the trails for about an hour, finishing off the shortfall with several loops around the “Tea path,” which we later discovered is actually called Bluestem. After an hour, we topped off our water/Succeed bottles and headed back out. I also continued to munch on the bag of Doritos I’d bought … quite tasty and just the saltiness to suit me.

Our original mileage goal for the day was 25 miles, but we realized that was probably ambitious shortly into our second hour at Cedar Ridge. The first hour seemed to drag on forever and we were tiring. The earlier hill training combined with the hilly terrain was taking its toll. But we reminded ourselves that this would be no different than what we’d be facing a few weeks into the future at Bandera. I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for the hills there!

So we spent an additional two hours to bring out total time to 4 hours. The GPS tallied 14.8 miles by the end of it all but I am not sure the elevation changes are properly accounted for. I plan to do some research on the model I use (Garmin GPSMap 60Cx) to see if others have similar thoughts.

I went out a little earlier than yesterday and the sun was definitely beating down. I have suspected my loop distance was not as long as I thought, so I had my Garmin GPSMap 60x with me (hence the mileage accuracy down to 1/100th of a mile). My suspicions were confirmed; I was cutting off a 0.3 mile section that left the loop 1 mile instead of 1.3.

The run was very similar to yesterday’s. I had the same hot spot on the ball of my left foot. Towards the end of the run, I also developed a bit of tightness on the top of my left foot. I suspect that I have not yet developed my stride and this is just normal soreness.

Though a bit bulky, the Garmin GPS is a nice tool I plan to use when scouting out new routes. I think it will be particularly helpful on trails without marked mileage. I used it on a recent overnight hike in Colorado’s Weminuche Wilderness and it was great to know how far until the loop was complete. It also kept us moving in the right direction and looking out for notable landmarks at appropriate times.

And speaking of gear, today I broke down and ordered a new pair of Montrail Hardrock shoes. REI has them marked down to $69.99 with decent stock in many sizes.