08-10-2013 -- 18 miles on the Jordan River Bike Trail

In an effort to get ready for the Las Vegas Marathon I've been doing my long runs on the bike trail, starting in Gardner Village and winding up somewhere in the heart of Taylorsville or South Salt Lake.  Either way, I ran the 18 miles in just shy of 2:50, about a 9:20 pace or so.  I wasn't running for any performance, just a long run and getting some miles in.

I love the bike trail as it is a meeting ground for runners.  Just in the past month of doing my weekly long runs, I've met a TON of new people.  It is sort of nice to get friendly nods as you run along the trail from the same people you see most every weekend.

To break up the monotony of the miles I usually listen to talk radio or 80's pop music.  This time I decided to take a picture at every mile, no matter where I was at and post them here, so you can get an idea of what the trail looks like.  The pictures aren't necessarily the greatest but they are a representation of the bike trail.  To make sure I didn't photograph the same area going and coming back (9 miles out, 9 back) I ran an extra .25 miles at the 9 mile mark, so the pictures are indeed different.

Here they are in chronological order:

Mile 0. I park near some apartments. The park parking lot is rumored to have a lot of car burglaries so I play it safe. I go to the light and hang a right. .33 miles later I am at the bike trail.

Mile 1. Pretty desolate here but usually lots of runners.  Still cool out but there is some humidity in the air.

Mile 2. This is a really nice park where there are drinking fountains, clean bathrooms and sometimes the running shoe stores put out Gatorade.

Mile 3: Another park

Mile 4 has some minor hills. Residential but there is a horse trail nearby.

Mile 5: My favorite section. A fiberglass bridge over a swampy area. It is only about .25 miles long but I like the vibe here. A really nice drinking fountain, bathrooms and a runner congregation area is just ahead.

Mile 6: Near some apartments. Watch out for ankle biting dogs.

Mile 7: A really nice bridge over the river. Bathrooms and drinking fountains about .15 miles ahead.

Mile 8: A stretch of rural. It gets pretty lonely out here and the other runners get sparse

Mile 9: Again, pretty desolate and woodsy

Mile 9.25: Ahead is a swamp and it gets wide open. I've never gone past the 10 mile mark.

Mile 10: On the way back... a nice park with drinking fountains and bathrooms is ahead.  Usually runners congregate here.

Mile 11: More ruralness

Mile 12: 

Mile 13: Drinking fountains ahead. I see lots of fishing going on here.

Mile 14: Climbing this hill.  It isn't really bad, but it hurts after going 14 miles.

Mile 15: 3 to go. This section is usually heavily populated with runners and cyclists

Mile 16: The bridge ahead is pretty cool.  A golf course is ahead. Usually a TON of people around here

Mile 17: There are about half a dozen bridges that go under the roads.  

Mile 18: The starting area. I walked the .33 miles back to my car. I was tired.

Proof that I ran it.