Three hour long run

Yesterday morning, Jess and I set out from our doorstep for a 15-miler in the Siskiyou Mountains.  After only about a mile of pavement, we hit one of the dirt roads above Lithia Park and started climbing to the first trailhead.  The first trail of the day, Bandersnatch, is a hiker/runner-only trail that switchbacks for about two miles to another trail named, Alice and Wonderland.  (Bandersnatch is a relatively new trail and, within the last week, finally got its very own permanent trail signs, which were previously only laminated signs stapled to trees.)  We took Alice to Forest Service Road 2060 to Toothpick.  Toothpick provides a brief respite from climbing before turning onto Catwalk, which climbs well over 1000 feet in about a mile and a half.  Despite this stout climb, we both managed to maintain a running stride.  Catwalk eventually empties out into the parking area at Four Corners, which is still only halfway to Mt. Ashland (not the day's objective, thankfully; however, Jess and I have hiked from Four Corners to Mt. Ashland in just over a couple of hours).  When we reached Four Corners, we refueled with Gu Chomps and then started the descent.  We took FSR 2060 to Caterpillar to White Rabbit.  White Rabbit eventually empties out onto the top of Park Street.  From Park Street, we jumped on the ditch (a nice, flat traverse trail about 500 feet above town) and cruised it over to Walker Avenue.  From Walker, it's only a few easy miles of pavement home.

We covered 15.3 miles with 3000 feet of elevation gain in almost exactly 3 hours.  My last 3-hour run was at the Austin Marathon in February 2011.  My last 3-hour training run was in December of 2010.  So completing yesterday's run without any trouble was hugely encouraging.  Today, I have no pain or soreness--only slight fatigue.  I'm pretty sure Ashland is the best thing that's ever happened to my running.  Jess, too.  Her nagging injuries are gone.

Here's the elevation profile. More stats here.