Post Jemez trail run

Great day today.  We started with a fine breakfast, enjoyed coffee on the porch then headed up to the foothills for another trail run.  We managed to find information about the Santa Fe Foothills trails systems and even better we found that we could get a free map of the area!  Love having maps when running in unfamiliar territory.

Today we chose to run trails associated with the Dale Ball trail system.  From our little condo it took less than 15 minutes to arrive at the trailhead on upper canyon road (that was after stopping at the visitors center for the free map).  The terrain was mostly runable for us although there were a few spots where one or both of us walked up (or down) a section.

We started with the Nature Conservancy Interpretive trail that goes around a small pond.  A quick stop at the Audobon Center and we were back on the trails.

It was a great day for running and the foliage in the area provided for some shade along the way.  The route we took seems to be at an elevation between about 7000' and 7600' (not clear on the map).  That being said, the elevation definitely played a part in our effort.

Despite the difficulty my calf gave me on the Jemez half marathon last weekend, it felt great today.  Crazy!  Very glad there is no more trouble, but bummed it had to happen for the half.

The trails were well marked and at each intersection was a permanent copy of the map I had in my pocket.  Distances between intersections are indicated and the intersections are numbered.  Even better, the map is properly oriented so the intersection is easy to figure out which way to go for the different trails.

We saw a few mountain bikers out there.  No wonder, the trails were technical but totally rideable.  A great resource for the folks in Santa Fe.  If you come out this way, definitely pick up a map at the Santa Fe Convention and Visitors Center at 201 W. Marcy Street (not far from the plaza) and give these trails a shot.