2011 01 07 time off in arizona

Susan Donnelly Ultramarathon Trail Runner. Motivational Speaker. http://www.susanruns100s.com

Time Off in Arizona Date : January 7, 2011

Heading home on the Dixie Mine trail. Love the sunshine!

For me, the winter holiday season is one of the best times for me to relax and recharge. There aren’t many races and best of all, there are enough holidays on the work schedule that I can manage a week plus away.

So I spent the time exactly where I wanted to – with my family in Arizona. I was born in Tennessee but my parents retired to Arizona. It’s far away and I miss them, but I’ve grown used to Arizona and have even come to appreciate the huge contrast to life in TN. It’s so different that just being there signals “vacation” and gets me out of any rut I may happen to be in.

As a happy coincidence, my parents happened to retire in a trail running paradise. In the

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adjoining McDowell Mountain Regional Park and Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve (effectively one big land mass) I can run loops, lollipops, out-and-backs, and even get Mom or Dad to drop me off on one side of the ridge so I can run home. There’s a ton of variety. The views and terrain and ecosystems vary tremendously with elevation and which side of the ridge you’re on. I’ve run plenty of the trails but still have the majority left to look forward to exploring.

For this visit, I arrived before Karen and Rob, and spent the days sleeping late, trail running and simply enjoying down time with my parents. I ran Dixie Mine and the dirt/paved road up to Thompson Peak and back, another favorite lollipop trail combination, and Mom dropped me off at the entrance of McDowell Mountain Park on her way to run an errand, letting me run Pemberton-Coachwhip-Windmill-Bell Pass-Prospector-Dixie Mine home. Nothing special, exactly what I wanted. I’m family, not a guest. (See photos from these runs below) When Karen and Rob arrived a few days later, we did some shopping and went out to eat at some great vegan restaurants, one of the frills of living near a big city. I’m not used to having so much choice on a menu. It was truly challenging to have to choose.

If my family was willing to do a loop in the morning around the block where they live, and they were most days, I did three in the reverse direction. It’s a nice residential area with great views of the mountains on both sides, so there’s plenty to see, even if the Christmas decorations aren’t there. It was fun being out together and I could see them on the first two loops and run the extra on my own or with Rob after he arrived.

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Mom and Dad looping one way while I loop the other.

I think they're racing each other.

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The whole family heading out together to walk and run.

At the end of the time, I’d run every day, caught up on sleep and had my much-needed hiatus from schedules and to-do lists. I love running races and travel but need a certain amount of unstructured downtime to stay in balance. Sharing that time with my family was the perfect way to do it.

Run 1 – Out and Back to Thompson Peak I’d been wanting to run this for a while out of curiosity. You can see Thompson Peak from my parent’s house, from town, and from the Javelina 100 course. So I started out here and pushed it. Whew, what a climb! The grade was so steep in places, they’ve paved the road and my weak ankle still hasn’t recovered from the grind up.

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The view from the top toward Phoenix. I'd hate to drive this road!

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Heading back down, all the way to the houses at the top right of the photo.

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View from partway up, looking across to Tom's Thumb. There are tons of great trails here!

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Almost home, on Dixie Mine Trail.

Run 2 – Dixie Mine/Coachwhip/Windmill/Bell Pass/Prospector/Dixie Mine This is probably my favorite lollipop to do easily from my parent’s house. The plants and terrain really vary, they’re fun trails and I get some climb along the way. A perfect mix of everything.

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Dixie Mine to...

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Coachwhip to...

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Windmill to...

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Bell Pass to...

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Prospector through...

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A saguaro forest...

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Back along Dixie Mine.

Run 3 – McDowell Mountain Park to Fountain Hills This is the run where Mom dropped me off at the Javelina 100 start and I ran back to town. Fun seeing the race course again but having a different destination. I chose to go back the longer way on Coachwhip instead of the entire Dixie Mine because I like the greener vegetation and twisty turns a little better.

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Starting out on the Pemberton Trail in McDowell Mnt. Park. So dry!

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Nice curves along Coachwhip.

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Couldn't resist exploring around at Dixie Mine along the way. Spooky!

Run 4 – Gateway/Loop/Bell Pass/Gateway This is a nice loop from the Gateway Access on the other (Scottsdale) side of the hill. Nice elevation gain and a pretty view from the Loop. We hiked most of the way up Gateway with my parents and sister and ran the rest of the loop, meeting them back at the Gateway Access right about the time they finished.

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Which way? Looks like we're in a Monty Python skit.

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Karen on the climb up Gateway.

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Late afternoon view from the top of the loop, looking toward Phoenix.

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Rob coming down Bell Pass in the sunset glow.

Run 5 – Dixie Mine, Out and Back This was a short day, since we had to take Rob to the airport that evening. Rob and I ran Dixie Mine out to the junction with the road up to Thompson Peak, then back. As you’ve probably guessed, this is the trail that gets me to the junction with so many other trails. It’s a fun trail with a variety of plants and views along the way, and I never get tired of it.

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I mentally divide the parts of the trail in my head. This is the "blue dirt" section.

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Saying goodbye to the desert and these trails for a while. Thanks for some great running!

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