18 mile PCT run

New Balance 921 footprint

Clay and I decided to do a 3 hour out and back run on the LD50 course west of Lake Hughes Rd. From Lake Hughes Rd. the course is 13 mile out to the turnaround and back. We made it about 8.5 miles out and turned around today. The first two miles is a good climb. I was hitting 12 min/mi. Then it levels off with rolling hills and lots of turns. I hit 4 miles (Aid Station #4) in 45 minutes. At 7.5 miles (Aid Station #5) we were just under 5000ft and there were big patches of snow. It is on the north side of the mountain and stays well shaded. The trail gets much more technical after that aid station. I missed a PCT sign at about 8.5 miles and started downhill. I thought it was strange to be going downhill and realized when I got to the Upper Shake Campground that I had made a wrong turn. I headed back up to the PCT to find Clay and his dog Aurora waiting for me. We turned to head back and when I got back to the car I crossed Lake Hughes Rd and headed up the other side for a half mile to finish the run at 18 miles in just under 3 hours. The Garmin is not as accurate with all the elevation changes of the trail. I figure I was probably closer to 19 miles. My legs were beat after the steep downhill of mile 17 and 18. I wonder what it will feel like when it is mile 40 and 41?Aid Station #5

I watched an interview with 800m American record holder (1:42.6) Johnny Gray on Flotrack yesterday. He is now coaching for UCLA and he says,

Proper
Preparation
Prevents
Poor
Performace

Sounds like a good t-shirt to me!