Day 5 was a 3-mile easy run. My “easy” pace is about the same as my “steady” pace – 13:00-14:00/mile. Rather than try to run slower than that, I decided to walk. When I find that my steady pace is around 12:00/mile, I’ll run on my easy runs.

This morning, some folks with the Nomad Trail Runners met and ran Candy Mountain to check out the new trail. They’re all much faster than me – their recovery pace is faster than my fast pace – so I had no illusions I’d be running with them. Sure enough, at the very start, they all took off running. (I start pretty much every run workout by walking to warm up.)The new trail to the top is flagged, and only a short section of it has been cut. The cut section is dirt, with pieces of basalt lying here & there. Once I reached the end of the cut trail, it was more overland hiking than running. I didn’t even attempt to run. Just staying upright was enough of a challenge.

I arrived at the top. Even on the way up, I could tell the views would be lovely. Candy isn’t as high as Badger, but its views are very nice. I snapped the obligatory selfie at the top.

And then came the descent…

I ran down the jeep trail and an existing trail. The jeep trail is pretty technical. The other side of Candy, which I didn’t run on, is really steep and covered with loose basalt. I saw that and decided against continuing. Good thing, too: the not-as-hairy side was enough for me. I tripped over a rock. My knees are a little scraped, but I wasn’t leaking. They’re going to be sore for a day or two, but I’m fine.

My pace on the technical descent is slow – 17-20 minutes/mile; I’m even slower on the climbs. The pace I’ll need to make to complete BMC50K within the cut-off time is 15:49/mile. Clearly, I have a LOT of work to do.

To be honest, I’m intimidated. This thing I’ve undertaken is HUGE. I’m confident I can do it. It won’t be easy. I need to remain dedicated and motivated. As long as I do the work, I can complete BMC50K within eight hours.

Another plus: I finally got to try out my new jacket. I really like it! It serves it function: it’s easy to put it on & take it off only the fly without having to adjust or remove my HydraQuiver. It takes some fiddling to get the HydraQuiver on just right, so having a jacket that can be donned & doffed around the HydraQuiver is awesome! (Yes, those are shameless plugs for those products. No, I don’t get a cut if you click on the link or buy them. I think the products are awesome and I believe there’s a chance you will, too.)

Tomorrow is a rest day. I have plenty of chores to keep me busy, but I will also do some stretching and maybe even a little foam-roller torture.