I never thought that I'd be able to do this kind of running again, much less running that includes over 3,000 feet of climbing. Yesterday, Jess, Joe, Bethany, Rich, and I ran over 12 miles up to Ostrich Peak (between 600 and 800 feet of climbing per mile), down the connector trail to National Forest road 2060, and then all the way down 2060 to Lithia Park. See details of the run here. About three quarters of the way up to Ostrich Peak, my right hip flexor started hurting. I had done some hip flexor strengthening exercises the day before, so I don't think it's cause for concern--just a touch overworked. My knee/leg felt mostly fine, but I was shot by the time we got down to the southern edge of the park. And we still had about another mile to go to get to the creek, but I made it. Joe and Rich continued on for about 8 more.

Joe, Bethany, and Rich are great training partners, as Joe just finished a 100k in less than 14 hours, Bethany is currently training for a marathon, and Rich is currently training for a 100 miler. Joe and Rich have been running ultras for a few years now, are pretty plugged in here in Ashland, and know the trails quite well.