Driving down to Gorham my butt hurt...more like burned with some radiating pain. Yup. Piriformis. I was thinking I should just not run. I thought that even as I laced up my Inov8s. I thought that as I took my first running steps; till I took my fist running steps. Then there was no pain! Very confusing. I felt good over my entire 10k run.
I thought I saw a deer bound ahead of me. Then I came across a woman walking her yellow lab - Was that the deer? If so, YIKES! It still could be that I saw a deer and that very deer-colored dog, but...more likely I just thought I saw a deer. I can just imagine if I was looking specifically to see a deer. Would I have taken a shot?
I've run into the woman and dog, Pickles, before. The cool thing is I didn't know she was running, too! I think she's still at the walk/run stage, but it is very difficult terrain. Yay for them!
I felt good until the drive home. My butt hates driving, but even just sitting. Rick found some PT type stuff on-line for me to try. Perhaps I'll just have to run to Stone Cat.
Now for some thoughts about encouragement and praise....When I was running with Jamie at Thorncrag, he commented on how good of a downhiller I was. I was shocked. I always thought I wasn't. Because Jamie said that, I did a little reflection and realized I really had improved. Now, when I'm running down hill, I think, "I'm good at downhills" and I am! (well, at least a lot better). I think I'm normally a pretty confident person and was a little surprised at how much Jamie's comment could mean. I guess it's because I think so much of him as a runner.
That lead me to think about how much George's encouragement has meant. He's put in so many miles this year and he's telling me how strong I look. And I'm thinking about it and I do feel strong; my running has improved.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Mistaken Identity...Maybe
I was a bit hesitant starting out today. I had such a good run Sunday till the last mile when something got tweaked. I thought at first it was my IT band. Later I began to suspect it was my piriformis acting up again. The nerve it aggravates runs down the leg and sometimes hurts at the ITB attachment place. It's hard to know what's going on. When I couldn't find a sore spot along the band with the roller....that seemed to help confirm the piriformis.
It was very evident that Gorham had some pretty heavy rain. I heard lots of running water for the first time since I've run there. The going was slow with all the slick leaves and mud on the steep parts. At least my leg behaved itself. I felt some twinges, but nothing bad. Very good. I got in a 10k.
It was very evident that Gorham had some pretty heavy rain. I heard lots of running water for the first time since I've run there. The going was slow with all the slick leaves and mud on the steep parts. At least my leg behaved itself. I felt some twinges, but nothing bad. Very good. I got in a 10k.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
A Very Trail-y Weekend
Saturday, the plan was for me to head to the Wolf Neck Farm 5K to hang with Sam while Snowman tore up the course. I figured I'd stop at Bradbury to get an easy 4 miles in before heading over. The only part of the plan that actually happened was Ryan's performance; driving to Bradbury, I got a call saying that Sam had a cold and hanging out in the wind and cold wasn't going to work. I figured I'd do a couple extra miles and head over to watch the race anyway.
At Bradbury, I found Nate, Lily with Echo, and Steve (one of the people I didn't know from last Saturday's run). Hmmmm....all fast, but I was the only one that knew the trails. The consensus seemed to be to get in 8-10 miles at whatever pace. I'm sure if the others had blog, they'd say we went at a leisurely pace. It was faster than I would have done on my own, but, I felt good (only a bit overdressed). I ran just the right amount to make it over to Wolf Neck in time to watch Ryan take 3rd overall!
Stone Cat Loop:
Today, I headed down to Danvers, MA to run lap of the Stone Cat course with TMs George, Ann, Kate, and Linda. Linda and I met the others at the Biddeford Park and Ride where we piled our junk into George and Ann's car. George drove and even bought our coffee AND put up with all the girl talk on the way down : )
GAC, the running group hosting Stone Cat, leads some runs over the course. This day they only had one runner there who knew the way which meant the diverse group of runners had to stay together somewhat. I'm really glad I went down. Not only did I have a great time, but I learned a lot about the race. I think I would have been really frustrated with the single track (even after reading Mindy's blog and talking to her). You have to realize there will be more than enough very fast double track to make up (I hope) for the bottlenecks on the single track. And there will be bottlenecks; with our small group I was walking up a lot of places not because it wasn't very runnable, but because I was stuck behind.
The marathoners and 50 milers start together. Because the loop is 12.5 miles, the marathoners need to do a mile more. Unfortunately, the race has us do this loop in the beginning which puts us all behind the 50 milers (a good portion of who will be going slower than the marathoners). I'm not sure why they don't do this at the end; it would also make it better for those who decide to drop down in distance during the event. Oh well, that's the way it is soo.... I'll plan on being patient (ugh!).
For this day, I decided that I would run back to the slower runners when I couldn't go forward. It kept me moving. After a while, the front group put some distance between themselves and the guide and would need to wait at the intersections to find out where to go. After waiting a few times, I decided that I would run back and get the directions. It was fun and kept me going pretty fast. I ran with George for a good amount. He's such a great cheerleader; He had me feeling like I was ready to win the race! He was running with the front group and then dropping back to check on Ann, Linda, and Kate.
Linda had decided to come along and planned to do some miles and then head back when she'd had enough. Well, she never did! Have enough that is; she finished the entire loop. That was the farthest she'd run since Pineland! I think this may have given her the confidence to think Stone Cat for next year.
Ann finished up looking as fresh as when she started. I'm betting she'll PR the course. Of course Kate will PR (a nice thing about a first marathon)! She finished up strong, too. In the last mile, I tweaked something and my IT band got grumpy fast. Lots of rollering is in my future. I'm hoping to get it under control. I don't want to be making any excuses after the race.
My total mileage ended up being 13.86:
At Bradbury, I found Nate, Lily with Echo, and Steve (one of the people I didn't know from last Saturday's run). Hmmmm....all fast, but I was the only one that knew the trails. The consensus seemed to be to get in 8-10 miles at whatever pace. I'm sure if the others had blog, they'd say we went at a leisurely pace. It was faster than I would have done on my own, but, I felt good (only a bit overdressed). I ran just the right amount to make it over to Wolf Neck in time to watch Ryan take 3rd overall!
Stone Cat Loop:
Today, I headed down to Danvers, MA to run lap of the Stone Cat course with TMs George, Ann, Kate, and Linda. Linda and I met the others at the Biddeford Park and Ride where we piled our junk into George and Ann's car. George drove and even bought our coffee AND put up with all the girl talk on the way down : )
GAC, the running group hosting Stone Cat, leads some runs over the course. This day they only had one runner there who knew the way which meant the diverse group of runners had to stay together somewhat. I'm really glad I went down. Not only did I have a great time, but I learned a lot about the race. I think I would have been really frustrated with the single track (even after reading Mindy's blog and talking to her). You have to realize there will be more than enough very fast double track to make up (I hope) for the bottlenecks on the single track. And there will be bottlenecks; with our small group I was walking up a lot of places not because it wasn't very runnable, but because I was stuck behind.
The marathoners and 50 milers start together. Because the loop is 12.5 miles, the marathoners need to do a mile more. Unfortunately, the race has us do this loop in the beginning which puts us all behind the 50 milers (a good portion of who will be going slower than the marathoners). I'm not sure why they don't do this at the end; it would also make it better for those who decide to drop down in distance during the event. Oh well, that's the way it is soo.... I'll plan on being patient (ugh!).
For this day, I decided that I would run back to the slower runners when I couldn't go forward. It kept me moving. After a while, the front group put some distance between themselves and the guide and would need to wait at the intersections to find out where to go. After waiting a few times, I decided that I would run back and get the directions. It was fun and kept me going pretty fast. I ran with George for a good amount. He's such a great cheerleader; He had me feeling like I was ready to win the race! He was running with the front group and then dropping back to check on Ann, Linda, and Kate.
Linda had decided to come along and planned to do some miles and then head back when she'd had enough. Well, she never did! Have enough that is; she finished the entire loop. That was the farthest she'd run since Pineland! I think this may have given her the confidence to think Stone Cat for next year.
Ann finished up looking as fresh as when she started. I'm betting she'll PR the course. Of course Kate will PR (a nice thing about a first marathon)! She finished up strong, too. In the last mile, I tweaked something and my IT band got grumpy fast. Lots of rollering is in my future. I'm hoping to get it under control. I don't want to be making any excuses after the race.
My total mileage ended up being 13.86:
Friday, October 22, 2010
The Norm
Ran Wednesday in the fields around the house. They were slightly less wet than Sunday, but the ground didn't really absorb that much. Did just under six.
Thursday I ran my Gorham loops. I was surprised to see the newly downed trees had been chainsawed out of the way. I mean, I'm glad they're gone, but why those trees and not any of the ones that have been down since summer? Perhaps the chainsaw-er likes the obstacle course that we had. I'm good with that.
The run was a little chilly. The rain held off till I finished my 6+ miles; it was just starting to spit as I got back to the car.
Thursday I ran my Gorham loops. I was surprised to see the newly downed trees had been chainsawed out of the way. I mean, I'm glad they're gone, but why those trees and not any of the ones that have been down since summer? Perhaps the chainsaw-er likes the obstacle course that we had. I'm good with that.
The run was a little chilly. The rain held off till I finished my 6+ miles; it was just starting to spit as I got back to the car.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
More Obstacles
The rain and wind from last week did a number on my Gorham loop. I won't be able to use my previous times to gauge my runs, because I have more trees to get over and a river crossing where there used to be a bridge. Two of the new hurdles are actually from one really tall tree that spans two parts of my twisty path. I didn't realize that till I tried to kick what I thought was the bigger (also higher hurdle) tree out of my path. Not only was the tree way tall, it was still connected by some twisted fibers. When I realized that, I put some more effort into it. Hmmm....am I maturing? Instead of digging in, I realized that I had a marathon to run soon; the tree had nothing to lose. I opted to leave it be, climb over and not injure myself. That's a first. Overall, I enjoyed my 7+ miles.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Major Regrets
I went to Bradbury Saturday to run far. Ian, Emma, Jeremy, Mike, and two others I don't know were there to run also. I knew they would be going at a faster pace than I wanted so just visited while getting ready and then said good-bye to them. Jeremy thought he might find me later to get in more miles.
I decided I would start with the Bruiser-without-the-twists course that gets me just under 8 miles, refuel, and go from there. The heavy rain from the day and night before had left Bradbury with lots of puddles and mud. I wore shorts and a long sleeved tech shirt. For most of the run I wished I had gloves; besides being cool, it was very windy.
Here's the major regrets...It was so beautiful running, I wish I'd been an English or Art major in order to be able to describe the scenery. In places the reds and golds carpeted my path with an amazingly intricate tapestry. Just when that almost became simply normal, I'd be in different types of trees and the ground would be all red or perhaps a shiny bronze. A lot of times when I run, I miss out on the beauty of the environment because I'm just looking down at the trail. This time, that's where it was beautiful!
I felt good after the first lap. Back at the car, I replaced the one 8 oz Gatorade bottle I was carrying and downed the rest of my coffee that I hadn't finished on the drive over. The Garmin said 7.8 miles. I liked that lap so well, I decided to run it again.
This time, I was surprised to find more trees and debris down; they'd fallen while I was out there! Luckily, the only thing to come close to me was an acorn. Unluckily, I discovered I had a snippet from Neil Young's "Pocahontas" running through my head... "Marlon Brando, Pocahontas, and me". That was it. No more of the song. AND no matter what I tried I couldn't get it out. I tried singing other songs out loud, but, as soon as I stopped..."Marlon Brando, Pocahontas, and me" would be there. UGH! I like the song, but not just phrase.
Back to the parking lot, I was feeling pretty strong, but still regretted not having the gloves. I decided to stay on the mountain side for the last miles. I figured the new terrain would be a good way to stay focused. Plus it would be nice to see other people, perhaps displacing Pocahontas.
I was happy to find my legs still had the life to handle the Boundary trail. It was on the Boundary that I finally got soaked. There were a couple large puddles where I was in past my knees. I didn't worry about getting too cold, knowing I didn't have very many miles to go. One really nice thing was that no 0ne had been through before me so the bottoms of the puddles were totally visible so I knew the footing. After a brief pause to look off the summit, I headed to the Tote Road, Northern Loop, down the Terrace toward the parking lot. When I realized I was a tad short on mileage, I started up the Switch Back Trail. I guessed how far up I needed to go and then ran back down. The 19.89 was good enough for me!
Today I ran a short recovery run in very, very soggy fields. The parts all seemed fine.
Oh! Congratulations to Jamie on his BQ effort at the MDI Marathon today!!! Can't wait to read his account : )
I decided I would start with the Bruiser-without-the-twists course that gets me just under 8 miles, refuel, and go from there. The heavy rain from the day and night before had left Bradbury with lots of puddles and mud. I wore shorts and a long sleeved tech shirt. For most of the run I wished I had gloves; besides being cool, it was very windy.
Here's the major regrets...It was so beautiful running, I wish I'd been an English or Art major in order to be able to describe the scenery. In places the reds and golds carpeted my path with an amazingly intricate tapestry. Just when that almost became simply normal, I'd be in different types of trees and the ground would be all red or perhaps a shiny bronze. A lot of times when I run, I miss out on the beauty of the environment because I'm just looking down at the trail. This time, that's where it was beautiful!
I felt good after the first lap. Back at the car, I replaced the one 8 oz Gatorade bottle I was carrying and downed the rest of my coffee that I hadn't finished on the drive over. The Garmin said 7.8 miles. I liked that lap so well, I decided to run it again.
This time, I was surprised to find more trees and debris down; they'd fallen while I was out there! Luckily, the only thing to come close to me was an acorn. Unluckily, I discovered I had a snippet from Neil Young's "Pocahontas" running through my head... "Marlon Brando, Pocahontas, and me". That was it. No more of the song. AND no matter what I tried I couldn't get it out. I tried singing other songs out loud, but, as soon as I stopped..."Marlon Brando, Pocahontas, and me" would be there. UGH! I like the song, but not just phrase.
Back to the parking lot, I was feeling pretty strong, but still regretted not having the gloves. I decided to stay on the mountain side for the last miles. I figured the new terrain would be a good way to stay focused. Plus it would be nice to see other people, perhaps displacing Pocahontas.
I was happy to find my legs still had the life to handle the Boundary trail. It was on the Boundary that I finally got soaked. There were a couple large puddles where I was in past my knees. I didn't worry about getting too cold, knowing I didn't have very many miles to go. One really nice thing was that no 0ne had been through before me so the bottoms of the puddles were totally visible so I knew the footing. After a brief pause to look off the summit, I headed to the Tote Road, Northern Loop, down the Terrace toward the parking lot. When I realized I was a tad short on mileage, I started up the Switch Back Trail. I guessed how far up I needed to go and then ran back down. The 19.89 was good enough for me!
Today I ran a short recovery run in very, very soggy fields. The parts all seemed fine.
Oh! Congratulations to Jamie on his BQ effort at the MDI Marathon today!!! Can't wait to read his account : )
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Feeling Good
Gorham. The usual Thursday loops. Not the usual results. It was one of those quantum leaps. My laps were all about a minute faster than the norm; that's a lot off a 1.2 mile loop. AND my last lap was even slightly faster than the first. Notice, I'm not telling the time. It's still slow going - lots of climbing over logs, lots of steep hills, lots of gnarly roots and twisty turns. I like it there.
Tuesday and Wednesday
Got to introduce Kevin to Thorncrag on Monday. I think it lives up to its hype thanks in a large part to having to go up, long and pretty steep right from the start. I had a little wait time before Kevin arrived, so warmed up a bit. Makes a huge difference when heading up! We did the same route I'd run with Jamie the week before, 4.1 miles that covers most of the trails at the Sanctuary.
Tuesday, I had to bring my car to the shop. I opted to run home while they worked on it. It's the first time I've run roads since the beginning of June. In order to get enough mileage, I ran some fields off of Littlefield Rd and our own. I hadn't been on the Littlefield path in a long time. There was amazing amounts of coyote scat and they've been eating lots of apples. They really are omnivores.
In the end the road portion was not as long as my off-road portion. Yay!
Tuesday, I had to bring my car to the shop. I opted to run home while they worked on it. It's the first time I've run roads since the beginning of June. In order to get enough mileage, I ran some fields off of Littlefield Rd and our own. I hadn't been on the Littlefield path in a long time. There was amazing amounts of coyote scat and they've been eating lots of apples. They really are omnivores.
In the end the road portion was not as long as my off-road portion. Yay!
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Weekend Report
Rick and I headed to Twin Brooks Saturday morning to help out at the Craig's Cup 5K. The weather was a bit nippy standing around, a combination of cool temps and a brisk wind. We joined TMs Ryan, Jamie, and Kate B. on back-up finish line duties. After what looked like a great race, we headed out for a run ourselves.
Jeff, having just run his marathon debut the week before (really just 6 days before) in a blazing 3:00:36 and then just running a PR at the Craig's Cup (which he also is the race director for), joined us seemingly on fresh legs! It's a good thing, I think he was the only one familiar with Twin Brooks.
Rick forgot to throw his inhaler into his bag of stuff and I could hear him wheezing a bit around 1.5 miles in. He decided to stop (probably got in 2) when we were near the soccer fields. I wanted to get in at least 1 more mile. When I figured I'd hit that mark and was at a place I knew how to get back, I said goodbye to the group. BUT Jeff said I'd be "pulling a Dunn" if I peeled off there. NO WAY did I want to be accused of that : O ! Turns out I'd have skipped a really steep, though short, hill, but I could get it in if I just ran another 1/4 mile longer. So, of course, I did.
Sunday I headed to Bradbury with a goal of 10-12 miles. Mindy met me to run the first six. Originally, I think she was going to do more, but had come down with a cold. Both of us had a hard time peeling off our warm over-clothes; it was chilly. I'd watched the temperature steadily drop going from my house to the park. It was 36 degrees.
We started out on my de-twisty Bruiser course, with the goal of finding the geocache I saw last week. About 3.6 miles into our run, I pointed out where I thought it was. Nope. When we got to where the Ginn meets up with Fox East, I knew we'd gone passed it and we turned around to try again. We ended up back where I originally thought it was and found a place where the leaves were packed down for just the size of the geocache box; someone had moved it : ( Mindy told me fun stories of geocaches she'd found.
Back to running the course. When we finished Fox East, I told Mindy she's probably get her six in if we ran back the Link. Pretty damn close! My Garmin was right at a 10K when we got to the cars. I took my GU, some Gatorade, and visited with Mindy a few more minutes before heading out. I was debating 10 or 12, east or west side. Mindy said it'd be more bad ass on the mountain side even if I went for the lower mileage. That settled it for me.
The change of terrain was good for my spirits. It was also fun seeing all the families with little kids on their outings. I ran the Boundary to the summit, the Tote, Northern Loop up to Terrace, and down. When I got very near the finish at 10.4 ish, I was feeling bad asser. I decided to run up the Switch Back to the summit and then down the Norther Loop. I made it up with no walking! Gorham has been bery, bery good to me! The Garmin read 11.76 at the end. Yay!
Jeff, having just run his marathon debut the week before (really just 6 days before) in a blazing 3:00:36 and then just running a PR at the Craig's Cup (which he also is the race director for), joined us seemingly on fresh legs! It's a good thing, I think he was the only one familiar with Twin Brooks.
Rick forgot to throw his inhaler into his bag of stuff and I could hear him wheezing a bit around 1.5 miles in. He decided to stop (probably got in 2) when we were near the soccer fields. I wanted to get in at least 1 more mile. When I figured I'd hit that mark and was at a place I knew how to get back, I said goodbye to the group. BUT Jeff said I'd be "pulling a Dunn" if I peeled off there. NO WAY did I want to be accused of that : O ! Turns out I'd have skipped a really steep, though short, hill, but I could get it in if I just ran another 1/4 mile longer. So, of course, I did.
Sunday I headed to Bradbury with a goal of 10-12 miles. Mindy met me to run the first six. Originally, I think she was going to do more, but had come down with a cold. Both of us had a hard time peeling off our warm over-clothes; it was chilly. I'd watched the temperature steadily drop going from my house to the park. It was 36 degrees.
We started out on my de-twisty Bruiser course, with the goal of finding the geocache I saw last week. About 3.6 miles into our run, I pointed out where I thought it was. Nope. When we got to where the Ginn meets up with Fox East, I knew we'd gone passed it and we turned around to try again. We ended up back where I originally thought it was and found a place where the leaves were packed down for just the size of the geocache box; someone had moved it : ( Mindy told me fun stories of geocaches she'd found.
Back to running the course. When we finished Fox East, I told Mindy she's probably get her six in if we ran back the Link. Pretty damn close! My Garmin was right at a 10K when we got to the cars. I took my GU, some Gatorade, and visited with Mindy a few more minutes before heading out. I was debating 10 or 12, east or west side. Mindy said it'd be more bad ass on the mountain side even if I went for the lower mileage. That settled it for me.
The change of terrain was good for my spirits. It was also fun seeing all the families with little kids on their outings. I ran the Boundary to the summit, the Tote, Northern Loop up to Terrace, and down. When I got very near the finish at 10.4 ish, I was feeling bad asser. I decided to run up the Switch Back to the summit and then down the Norther Loop. I made it up with no walking! Gorham has been bery, bery good to me! The Garmin read 11.76 at the end. Yay!
Friday, October 8, 2010
You Say Tomato, I Say Wicked Hard Run!
Had great run today at Thorncrag with Jamie. It was pretty much a repeat of a run we'd done last year (October 9th). In fact, our views of our runs were pretty much the same as last year: he saw it as leisurely, I say it as a hard work out.
Jamie made me feel good on one of the long downs; he said I was a great down-hiller! I never really thought that, but, with his comment, realized I have improved a lot.
I wish more people were familiar with Thorncrag to appreciate another comment Jamie made....He thinks that looong, STEEP, hill up the back would be a great hill for repeats! That's crazy talk, I tell ya'.
Jamie made me feel good on one of the long downs; he said I was a great down-hiller! I never really thought that, but, with his comment, realized I have improved a lot.
I wish more people were familiar with Thorncrag to appreciate another comment Jamie made....He thinks that looong, STEEP, hill up the back would be a great hill for repeats! That's crazy talk, I tell ya'.
Faster and Slower
I ran Tuesday's run again. I thought I was running a lot faster. It seemed to me that I could recover from the ups at a faster pace than I was doing before. Looking at the Garmin results, I could and did for two laps, but it took it's toll and my subsequent laps were slower, though I couldn't feel it. So even though two of my laps were 20 seconds faster than my Tuesday's times, my overall pace was 4 seconds/mile slower.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
A River Runs Through Shit
I have a bit of a cold. The only time I felt fine was out running in the driving rain. Just because of how the day went, I ended up running the fields again. Everything was very soggy. When I got to the manure pile, a river of it was running down my path. Nothing to do, but run through it. The post-run shower was heavenly!
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
That's What It's All About
Sometimes a run is so unexpectedly great. I'd taken two days off in a row after my long run on Saturday. It hadn't seemed to make a difference in how my body (left foot and knee/hip) was feeling. Still, waiting for Sam in Gorham with no run - no good. My schedule called for six and that's what I set out to do.
In my first lap, my pains were all present and I was sort of worried that I'd have to cut it short. As I ran, the parts all seemed to fall into place. I found myself just having fun. It's hard running (both the technicality of the trail and the elevation changes), but...Yahoo! My four laps were all within 4 seconds/mile of each other. It's the first time I didn't have to walk up the long up at all.
I finished feeling strong, ready, and happy.
PS. Some things I'd forgotten to write about Saturday's run:
Not long after I was running by myself, I noticed a camo-covered box under a rock overhang. I stopped to investigate and found a geocache! I think I could have stayed and played with the trinkets inside for a long time, but knew I had to keep moving. I'd love to go back and investigate.
On the second side, I had a couple of surprises. There was a tree down across the bridge on the Tote Road. I'd estimate it to be over 12" in diameter and the bridge was undamaged. Towards the end of the Tote, I nearly stepped on a snake...or so I thought..
...There were two snakes! They slithered in opposite directions, leaving me to almost land on one of them. Ugh!!! I don't mind snakes at all, but HATE to be startled by them. Oh well, at least I didn't land on it!
In my first lap, my pains were all present and I was sort of worried that I'd have to cut it short. As I ran, the parts all seemed to fall into place. I found myself just having fun. It's hard running (both the technicality of the trail and the elevation changes), but...Yahoo! My four laps were all within 4 seconds/mile of each other. It's the first time I didn't have to walk up the long up at all.
I finished feeling strong, ready, and happy.
PS. Some things I'd forgotten to write about Saturday's run:
Not long after I was running by myself, I noticed a camo-covered box under a rock overhang. I stopped to investigate and found a geocache! I think I could have stayed and played with the trinkets inside for a long time, but knew I had to keep moving. I'd love to go back and investigate.
On the second side, I had a couple of surprises. There was a tree down across the bridge on the Tote Road. I'd estimate it to be over 12" in diameter and the bridge was undamaged. Towards the end of the Tote, I nearly stepped on a snake...or so I thought..
...There were two snakes! They slithered in opposite directions, leaving me to almost land on one of them. Ugh!!! I don't mind snakes at all, but HATE to be startled by them. Oh well, at least I didn't land on it!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Bradbury Long
It was perfect weather for Saturday's long run at Bradbury. I was happy to have some very good company to start. Lily, Jeremy and Andy were only with us for a short time before speeding off. Mindy and I lead the others (cause we knew the way) over the Scuffle course. It was good to catch up with Mindy!
On the Snowmobile trail (where the Bruiser crosses), we ran into the faster runners again. Turns out they'd just run randomly since none of them knew any real course. Mindy, Scarborough Kate, Andy, and two people I didn't get the names of called it good after the Scuffle. Lily and Echo, Jeremy, Nate and I went back out for more. They didn't care where we went so I led them out onto the Bruiser planning to skip the Island Loop and the O. At the top of the Snowmobile trail, everyone else peeled off to head back. It was nice having company for the first 8+ of my planned 18 miles.
When I finished the non-twisty Bruiser, the Garmin showed I'd gone just over 14.5 miles. I replenished my Fuel Belt and decided to stay on the mountain side for the rest of my miles. The other side might be flatter, but the trails were getting harder to follow as more leaves fell. I didn't want to have to pay that much attention.
My IT band had been getting tight during the week with me running lots of my mileage in the fields. I was happy that it seemed to behave and even improve at the start of the run. Somewhere around 10 miles, my sore left foot/ankle said that, even with skipping the twisty part of the Bruiser, the east side had too many left turns for it. Around 16 miles, my IT band felt like it wanted some attention, too.
I ran up the Boundary right to the Summit then to the Tote and finally back down the Northern Loop Trail. Even though my pieces were hurting, I was very happy with how I felt at the end of the 18.25 mile run. I still had lots of energy and am pretty sure I had at least a marathon in me already!
On the Snowmobile trail (where the Bruiser crosses), we ran into the faster runners again. Turns out they'd just run randomly since none of them knew any real course. Mindy, Scarborough Kate, Andy, and two people I didn't get the names of called it good after the Scuffle. Lily and Echo, Jeremy, Nate and I went back out for more. They didn't care where we went so I led them out onto the Bruiser planning to skip the Island Loop and the O. At the top of the Snowmobile trail, everyone else peeled off to head back. It was nice having company for the first 8+ of my planned 18 miles.
When I finished the non-twisty Bruiser, the Garmin showed I'd gone just over 14.5 miles. I replenished my Fuel Belt and decided to stay on the mountain side for the rest of my miles. The other side might be flatter, but the trails were getting harder to follow as more leaves fell. I didn't want to have to pay that much attention.
My IT band had been getting tight during the week with me running lots of my mileage in the fields. I was happy that it seemed to behave and even improve at the start of the run. Somewhere around 10 miles, my sore left foot/ankle said that, even with skipping the twisty part of the Bruiser, the east side had too many left turns for it. Around 16 miles, my IT band felt like it wanted some attention, too.
I ran up the Boundary right to the Summit then to the Tote and finally back down the Northern Loop Trail. Even though my pieces were hurting, I was very happy with how I felt at the end of the 18.25 mile run. I still had lots of energy and am pretty sure I had at least a marathon in me already!
Friday, October 1, 2010
Tropical Runs
I just scrapped the post I was working on this morning. It was kind of complaining about a run that was actually pretty great except for the humidity. I ran just over 5.2 miles on the trails in Gorham. The trails looked totally different with all the leaves down. I'm going to need to rake or something to be able to run there much longer.
Today's run was equally as swampy-aired, but just in the fields around the house. My IT band was making itself known. I don't think I should be running so many field miles. I'd been doing the bulk of my miles at Bradbury this summer. My mind, body and spirit all like it there. I'm hoping a long run there tomorrow will actually help loosen things up. At least the weather will be nicer : )
Today's run was equally as swampy-aired, but just in the fields around the house. My IT band was making itself known. I don't think I should be running so many field miles. I'd been doing the bulk of my miles at Bradbury this summer. My mind, body and spirit all like it there. I'm hoping a long run there tomorrow will actually help loosen things up. At least the weather will be nicer : )
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