The GI troubles that I last posted about continued. By mid-Monday, I was truly miserable at work. My back started to spasm along with the intestinal spasms. I toughed out the day. By night time, I was writhing on the couch between trips to the bathroom. Tuesday morning Rick asked if I should go to the ER. I said if I couldn't get into the doctor's office, I'd go. Fortunately for me, one of the docs in my dr's office had a cancellation for 9:20 am. I called next door to see if Bethany or Linda could drive me. I would have been able to if I knew I would have a spasm on the way. When Beth picked me up she said she didn't think she'd ever seen me look so bad except maybe after Pineland 50. I said at least then I was happy. I like to earn my pain.
The doctor was first of all more concern with my back spasms. They were an obvious problem. I tried to bring the focus back to my GI issues. By the time he'd made his diagnosis, I was skeptical, but anxious to get out of there and back to my couch and Bradley Bear (thank you, thank you, Dora. That thera-bear has brought me sooooo much comfort). I had Beth stop by Rite-Aid so I could pick up the Imodium. Rick would picks up the prescriptions after work since we get them at a pharmacy on the way home for him. One was a muscle relaxer and one was metronidazol, an antibiotic that works on protozoa. Protozoa?! I don't drink from mountain streams. I also don't "run in a handwoven pine bough skirt and occasionally gnaw on tree bark when hungry?" (thanks, unstrung :)) When I reported back to Squirrel and the Unstrung One, Squirrel consulted a higher authority, while the other made me laugh with images of me running through the woods quaffing copious quantities of wood water in various ways. When Squirrel's sources concurred with my doc, I began to believe.
The amazing thing, the Imodium worked less on my GI than my back. My spasms decreased maybe 80%! I could at least drift in and out of sleep. When Rick brought my prescriptions, he handed them to me as I immediately googled them. He said when the pharmacy asked if there were any questions regarding the meds, he replied that he was bringing them to his wife who would read all the info and then not take them. That is my m.o. I don't take Tylenol, Ibuprofen, vitamins, or anything. Several times I was given prescriptions for things and just put them in the cupboard. Knowing I could take them if I wanted was often all I needed. I decided I would take one of the muscle relaxers, mostly to guarantee sleep. I would give my body one more day to tackle the GI thing on its own.
Wednesday morning, I realized I needed to take the antibiotic. Another day home from work. Again, I mostly drifted in and out of sleep. I was disappointed to still have the same GI stuff going on Thursday. Squirrel's source did say a couple of days for the meds to work. I went in to work for 5+ hours. There were problems in my area. Friday. No change. A full day of work. Oh, and I hadn't eaten really since last Thursday. Saltines, bananas, applesauce, white rice, some plain chicken breast, yogurt, but not much of any of it. Ugh.
Saturday, signs of improvement!!! I did have to work all day, otherwise I might have, unwisely, tried to run at Brad. I think I was pretty much over with the illness by the end of the day, but my stomach isn't happy now; I think from the antibiotic. Knowing that I had to be into work Sunday by 10, I decided to run before around home.
Spot had me up before I needed to be up. I took her out for her walk and noticed that Linda's lights were on. Since I went back to work, I miss seeing Linda and Jerry. I think I wandered over there 3 or 4 times a day before: to chat, to borrow something, or for no reason. I've started a little ritual of having coffee with Linda on the weekends. We catch up on our weeks before the men-folk wake and before we go our separate ways. This morning was going to be more special than usual; I hadn't had coffee in over a week!!! Oh! Almost 7am. Gotta run, Linda. YES. I. have. to. run. gotta.
I was able to get out by 7:30. It was just 5 degrees and there was a decent northerly wind. I was dressed well though. I ran down the drive then turned off heading towards the back fields. My face immediately started complaining that it was cold. Shut up. It's beautiful and the traction is good, very good. I am moving and I am happy. The face keeps up its little whiny dialog. A mile in, the rest of my parts is telling my face to shut up; they are hot. I take my mittens off 2 miles in.
Oh! Please, please weather, please give us these conditions for the Fatass. I didn't even notice that my face had shut up some where along the way. All of me was enjoying itself now. I don't think I've ever appreciated the fields as much as today. I had plenty of creature tracks to wonder about, but mostly I just enjoyed the movement. It was good that I had to get to work; I think the 6.1 miles was about what my calorie-deficient body had in it, but I just wanted to keep running.
For supper, I almost ate normally. I made a lightly seasoned chicken fajita/taco thing. Flavor. Ahhh.
Coffee was not the only drink I haven't had in over a week. I had no desire for beer. Then, the metronidazol can't be mixed with alcohol. In fact, you have to wait at least a day the last dose to have any. But I can run.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Sunday's Drag
OK, Sunday's run. I felt worse to start off, but figured I was doing a lot less miles so... I headed out to the snomo trails around here. Crap. I was feeling bad and going to have to work really hard; the footing just sucked. After 3.5 hard miles, I came to a spot where a neighbor had been doing some logging. The tracks of the vehicles were packed hard. Traction! The elation of some easy running made me actually smile. Then, just 1/4 miles of that, the vehicle had plunged through the ice where I would have crossed the river. I looked for another place for a bit, but needed to be back by 9am to get to the Snow Squall on time. I turned back, when I reached the end of the hard-packed tracks, I stopped. I stood looking from the good stuff to the bad. I don't care if it seems like running on a track, I turned and ran back and forth till I was nearly out of time.
Unfortunately, my GI issues were worse on this run. Arghhh!
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Choices
I have some sort of lower GI issue going on. Friday night I fell asleep at 8pm and more or less slept till 6am. That proves something's wrong. When I woke up I raced to the bathroom with Spot trying her best to follow (her legs move pretty slowly upon waking); she said that she gets to have breakfast before anything else happens. I wish I could have complied.
Well, I obviously wasn't better. I'd also developed a dull headache. OK, S&S had plans for 20 miles. What were my chances? I decided that I'd try. I semi-jokingly thought it would kill me or cure me. I also know there are lots of bail spots on the BL. Perhaps I'd know in the fist 1/2 mile if it were a poor choice. I let the Squirrel know my condition, of course she had the perfect reply.
When I pulled into Brad's lot, there were a good group there already. Xar, Blaine, Joe, and Ryan's group of snowshoe race course-marking volunteers: Ryan, Andy, Zak, and Oops (forgot everyone there). Soon, Mindy pulled in. She'd brought the shirts for the race. When she announced it with a little accent, I thought she said, "I got the shits." \o/
I lead the runners across to the east side. Blaine and Joe planned to turn around at the 5 mile point. Xar thought she might stay with us a bit then drop back and do various stuff perhaps ending going out the BL backwards to meet up with S&S for the finish. Blaine said something to me. I replied I just don't feel like talking. I tried to focus on running. I felt not great. It reminded me of the stretches in our 50s where the Squirrel and I are quiet, just working on the miles. The funny thing was that the rest of the group followed suit. There really was no talking for the first 4 miles. Then I think Blaine and Mindy had a little chat.
Before we popped out onto the power lines, I pulled off and waved the others on. I made sure to get far off the trail. When I caught back up (they were waiting on the power lines), it was time for Joe to head back. Blaine decided to head the other way on the power lines till the road to get the exact mileage he wanted. So it was Scout and Squirrel on the BL. I felt better after my pit stop. A few steps into the solo S&S portion, I noticed my headache was gone. Soon our normal conversation started up. It's funny how long it seems between our long runs. And all we have to discuss backs this up.
The going was decent. Hi chairs! We didn't stop at the recliners this time, but did acknowledge them. We were pretty about moving forward. We came to the river. Last time the ice held us. Hmmm....it looked pretty thin in the middle. We looked for something to throw at it. Nothing. I stepped tentatively onto the edge. Crack, splash! Nope. We'd have to go around. It's a short detour with a little bushwacking involved, but this time was much easier than our first; the snow wasn't thigh high.
After we crossed Alan Road, just after the sub-station, I needed another pit stop. This frequency wasn't too bad. In fact, I usually have to pee that often any way. Mindy went ahead and used the time to down a waffle. I tried a blueberry, apple, and purple carrot Happy Tot. Blue and applesauce are on the list of 10 best things to east when you have diarrhea. Seemed close. I was also trying to take in a lot of fluid.
When we got to our stretch of power line (off of Sweetser Rd), Mindy noticed that it looked like there had been no snomo traffic. Not a one. Going got much slower. There was ice under the snow in random places. We didn't get snomo tracks till we turned off the power lines heading towards Leighton Rd. Then it was the more sugary stuff. Oh BL, we love you any way.
On one of the longer ups, on the way to the school, I got a bit light headed. A slight pause to un-dizzy gave Mindy the time to stretch her hip flexors. Crossing Elmwood, the conditions seemed to improve a bit. I held a little hope for Lunch Break. Man! Again, no traffic. I told Mindy I wasn't up for repeats. She took it well. We'd get mileage elsewhere.
At least our decision allowed us to meet Summit, a golden retriever/lab cross. As we ran down the Northern Loop, this bounding bundle of energy and teeth came flying at us. With each bound her gums flew back revealing a toothy smile. It took a second to realize one of her front legs was a little stump. Soon her person followed. Summit stayed still for some love but still leap and ran around as we talked. She was born with the little piece of a leg. I mentioned that a lab up the street from me had that, but the leg was longer and they cut it to that length feeling that with the original length she would try to use it and mess up the rest of her body. This woman was a little sad to learn it. She said that Summit's leg was too short. Had it been longer she could have been fitted for a prosthetic. She made prosthetics, both animal and human, for a living. What a boost meeting them!
From there it was across to the east side for more miles. We ended with 17.9, but I was done. So. My run did neither. I wasn't cured or dead. I still have the same yucky GI issues, but I got my miles and feel no worse.
Well, I obviously wasn't better. I'd also developed a dull headache. OK, S&S had plans for 20 miles. What were my chances? I decided that I'd try. I semi-jokingly thought it would kill me or cure me. I also know there are lots of bail spots on the BL. Perhaps I'd know in the fist 1/2 mile if it were a poor choice. I let the Squirrel know my condition, of course she had the perfect reply.
When I pulled into Brad's lot, there were a good group there already. Xar, Blaine, Joe, and Ryan's group of snowshoe race course-marking volunteers: Ryan, Andy, Zak, and Oops (forgot everyone there). Soon, Mindy pulled in. She'd brought the shirts for the race. When she announced it with a little accent, I thought she said, "I got the shits." \o/
I lead the runners across to the east side. Blaine and Joe planned to turn around at the 5 mile point. Xar thought she might stay with us a bit then drop back and do various stuff perhaps ending going out the BL backwards to meet up with S&S for the finish. Blaine said something to me. I replied I just don't feel like talking. I tried to focus on running. I felt not great. It reminded me of the stretches in our 50s where the Squirrel and I are quiet, just working on the miles. The funny thing was that the rest of the group followed suit. There really was no talking for the first 4 miles. Then I think Blaine and Mindy had a little chat.
Before we popped out onto the power lines, I pulled off and waved the others on. I made sure to get far off the trail. When I caught back up (they were waiting on the power lines), it was time for Joe to head back. Blaine decided to head the other way on the power lines till the road to get the exact mileage he wanted. So it was Scout and Squirrel on the BL. I felt better after my pit stop. A few steps into the solo S&S portion, I noticed my headache was gone. Soon our normal conversation started up. It's funny how long it seems between our long runs. And all we have to discuss backs this up.
The going was decent. Hi chairs! We didn't stop at the recliners this time, but did acknowledge them. We were pretty about moving forward. We came to the river. Last time the ice held us. Hmmm....it looked pretty thin in the middle. We looked for something to throw at it. Nothing. I stepped tentatively onto the edge. Crack, splash! Nope. We'd have to go around. It's a short detour with a little bushwacking involved, but this time was much easier than our first; the snow wasn't thigh high.
After we crossed Alan Road, just after the sub-station, I needed another pit stop. This frequency wasn't too bad. In fact, I usually have to pee that often any way. Mindy went ahead and used the time to down a waffle. I tried a blueberry, apple, and purple carrot Happy Tot. Blue and applesauce are on the list of 10 best things to east when you have diarrhea. Seemed close. I was also trying to take in a lot of fluid.
When we got to our stretch of power line (off of Sweetser Rd), Mindy noticed that it looked like there had been no snomo traffic. Not a one. Going got much slower. There was ice under the snow in random places. We didn't get snomo tracks till we turned off the power lines heading towards Leighton Rd. Then it was the more sugary stuff. Oh BL, we love you any way.
On one of the longer ups, on the way to the school, I got a bit light headed. A slight pause to un-dizzy gave Mindy the time to stretch her hip flexors. Crossing Elmwood, the conditions seemed to improve a bit. I held a little hope for Lunch Break. Man! Again, no traffic. I told Mindy I wasn't up for repeats. She took it well. We'd get mileage elsewhere.
At least our decision allowed us to meet Summit, a golden retriever/lab cross. As we ran down the Northern Loop, this bounding bundle of energy and teeth came flying at us. With each bound her gums flew back revealing a toothy smile. It took a second to realize one of her front legs was a little stump. Soon her person followed. Summit stayed still for some love but still leap and ran around as we talked. She was born with the little piece of a leg. I mentioned that a lab up the street from me had that, but the leg was longer and they cut it to that length feeling that with the original length she would try to use it and mess up the rest of her body. This woman was a little sad to learn it. She said that Summit's leg was too short. Had it been longer she could have been fitted for a prosthetic. She made prosthetics, both animal and human, for a living. What a boost meeting them!
From there it was across to the east side for more miles. We ended with 17.9, but I was done. So. My run did neither. I wasn't cured or dead. I still have the same yucky GI issues, but I got my miles and feel no worse.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
The Week in (Quick) Review
- Saturday - Ran our (S&S) fastest Beautiful Loop yet, probably because the conditions were the best. We took almost 1.5 hours off of our slowest BL. Yikes! Oh, it was a back off week on our 50 schedule. 8 miles? Couldn't do it. The 15 felt right.
- Sunday - Danielle, Joe (new Joe), Yana, Marcus, Andy, and S&S started out the BL together. Andy popped off the front to finish the BL with bonus miles. The rest of us did an out and back for 8.6 miles (schedule called for 4). Conditions a mixed bag, but generally worse than the day before.
- Tuesday - Headed out after a late work dinner. I was rewarded with, perhaps, the best conditions of the winter. It was after 11pm when I walked in the door. 4.4 miles
- Wednesday - Another late run, but much, much harder running. It seems 99% of our runs are forced strength training. 4.5 miles.
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Midweek Milktoast Mileage
Tuesday night I ran a bit over 4 miles. I don't think I got out the door till 9:30ish. Conditions weren't great, but they certainly weren't bad. I have had some late night runs where I could envision the predators thinking I was some injured animal flailing around in the snow. I felt semi-brave but didn't venture as far as when I have company.
Wednesday, Rick started out with me before supper. He only got in a couple of miles before his calf stopped him. The dry, sugary snow is hard on the calves. Poor guy, it seems to happen every time he's nearly all the way back. I finished up with as exactly four as Garmin allows.
Wednesday, Rick started out with me before supper. He only got in a couple of miles before his calf stopped him. The dry, sugary snow is hard on the calves. Poor guy, it seems to happen every time he's nearly all the way back. I finished up with as exactly four as Garmin allows.
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Sweet Sunday Surprise
It was so much fun, silliness, and effort for Saturday's beautiful loop, I was a bit sad I wasn't going to get to run with Mindy and Xar on the after-the-long-run run; Rick and I were going to bring Sam back to WPI on Sunday morning. Then all of a sudden there was an apt that Ryan had to look at pretty immediately. OK, I'd drive him down and Rick would drive Sam. Early Sunday, Xar messaged. I said how I'd at least get to run in the afternoon at Brad. Brilliant girl suggested that perhaps she and Mindy could wait. Mindy was fine with that, too!!! YAY!
We started out at 2:30 on a backwards BL. It was the perfect post-BL-plus run run. We worked hard in the less-than-expectedly packed snow, but played and enjoyed it all. By the time we ran back into the parking lot, it had started getting dark.
I was happy that my knee didn't seem to have any memory of the previous day's post hole. Then, Monday morning, putting my boots on to go to work, my foot slipped on some water on the hallway floor. I hyper-extended it again. Grrrrr. It was more painful than during the run. Really?
We started out at 2:30 on a backwards BL. It was the perfect post-BL-plus run run. We worked hard in the less-than-expectedly packed snow, but played and enjoyed it all. By the time we ran back into the parking lot, it had started getting dark.
I was happy that my knee didn't seem to have any memory of the previous day's post hole. Then, Monday morning, putting my boots on to go to work, my foot slipped on some water on the hallway floor. I hyper-extended it again. Grrrrr. It was more painful than during the run. Really?
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Do Deer Wear Deerskin Blankets? Or, The Squirrel Will Make Deerskin Vests
Saturday some Monsters were headed to Ma for a fatass, a nice way to get in lots of miles with company and aid. Since I was going to be headed to MA on Sunday to bring Sam back to school, I decided to stay with Brad, hardly a compromise. Luckily for me, the Squirrel was all over that. We'd do the BL and add some extra to get in the 18 on our schedule. Next thing we knew, Xar was going to BL, too! The only thing, she was a little reluctant to strike out with us. She thought to start out early and then we'd pick her up along the way. Unstrung, a bit unstrung, was still a little worried about staying with us or letting us go and then not knowing the course. I assured her we would not let her get lost, but would carry flags. If S&S got out ahead, we'd drop flags that she'd pick up as she followed. A plan.
S&S met at 8 at the Brad. Xar's CAR car was already there and empty. We wondered how early she started. After my Thursday night run home, I was a little disappointed with the trail conditions. Tsk, tsk! They were so, so much improved from our last BL, that I should be ashamed of myself for any grumblings. Still, I had expectations.
How can we have so much to talk about after our hours and hours of running just days before? Who cares? We do and it works. Out near the gravel pits, Porter and Angus (or maybe some other animal(s)) had the moose ribs in plain view. Mindy was not disappointed; it was just Fred Flinstonish enough.
Through the first stretch of power lines, across rte 9, we were still seeing the Hoka prints. Then we came to the place with the "New Trail" sign with a left pointing arrow. S&S had plans to check out the new trail some day, but for now were sticking with the BL. We thought it would meet back up later, but weren't sure. Xar! Her tracks followed the new trail. Oh well.
Just a few tenths later, I caught some motion in my peripheral vision. "XAR!" Sure enough, her trail was coming back to ours. There was much rejoicing. Oh! The we came upon the recliners. We were so happy to share the chairs with Xar. We were pretty amazed that our footprints were still the only ones leading there. We were convincing Xar she had to rest, when I noticed the rib cage. What the hell?!
With some boot digging, I found the hind legs. It was a deer carcass. Well, since I knew where the rear was, I was driven to search for the head. I struck pay dirt pretty quickly. Awww, such a pretty dear head. The Unstrung One and the Squirrel were equally mortified and tickled. There was much maniacal laughter. Xar filmed it. Then, we got on with Xar reclining. The deer was dead; it didn't care we'd moved on.
Right after, we were pleased to find the river crossing was firmly crossable. Every mile or so either Mindy or I would comment on how much farther we'd gone in this amount of time from last week. It was truly amazing.
After the substation, we were happy to find that snowmobiles had been through the power lines from there out. Yup, going was a piece of cake...comparatively speaking. After the Highland Coos, we all oohed and ahhed at the next stretch. The BL is B.
Starting up LB, we opted to go the old BL path. That way when we were tacking on miles, we wouldn't be doing it when we were in the parking lot and tempted to stop or just sad about the xtra miles.
Somewhere after the school, my left leg when down into a hole. Shit! The knee definitely was hyperextended a bit. Luckily, some cute little border terriers appeared with their owners. They were perfect therapy dogs. By the time we parted, I couldn't feel any pain. Not long after, the Squirrel hit a hole, but she had a much more interesting, graceful(?) response and wasn't hurt.
We crossed rte 9 back onto the east side of the park. We ran out Knights Woods onto the snomo trail, then made a right. From there we continued out into the field and beyond. We kept running till we knew we'd have our 18 by the time we got back in. Xar had her first BL with extra miles on top :D
We all had wonderful, wonderful soup after at E&Ls. In fact, I had soup and chili.
S&S met at 8 at the Brad. Xar's CAR car was already there and empty. We wondered how early she started. After my Thursday night run home, I was a little disappointed with the trail conditions. Tsk, tsk! They were so, so much improved from our last BL, that I should be ashamed of myself for any grumblings. Still, I had expectations.
How can we have so much to talk about after our hours and hours of running just days before? Who cares? We do and it works. Out near the gravel pits, Porter and Angus (or maybe some other animal(s)) had the moose ribs in plain view. Mindy was not disappointed; it was just Fred Flinstonish enough.
Through the first stretch of power lines, across rte 9, we were still seeing the Hoka prints. Then we came to the place with the "New Trail" sign with a left pointing arrow. S&S had plans to check out the new trail some day, but for now were sticking with the BL. We thought it would meet back up later, but weren't sure. Xar! Her tracks followed the new trail. Oh well.
Just a few tenths later, I caught some motion in my peripheral vision. "XAR!" Sure enough, her trail was coming back to ours. There was much rejoicing. Oh! The we came upon the recliners. We were so happy to share the chairs with Xar. We were pretty amazed that our footprints were still the only ones leading there. We were convincing Xar she had to rest, when I noticed the rib cage. What the hell?!
With some boot digging, I found the hind legs. It was a deer carcass. Well, since I knew where the rear was, I was driven to search for the head. I struck pay dirt pretty quickly. Awww, such a pretty dear head. The Unstrung One and the Squirrel were equally mortified and tickled. There was much maniacal laughter. Xar filmed it. Then, we got on with Xar reclining. The deer was dead; it didn't care we'd moved on.
Right after, we were pleased to find the river crossing was firmly crossable. Every mile or so either Mindy or I would comment on how much farther we'd gone in this amount of time from last week. It was truly amazing.
After the substation, we were happy to find that snowmobiles had been through the power lines from there out. Yup, going was a piece of cake...comparatively speaking. After the Highland Coos, we all oohed and ahhed at the next stretch. The BL is B.
Starting up LB, we opted to go the old BL path. That way when we were tacking on miles, we wouldn't be doing it when we were in the parking lot and tempted to stop or just sad about the xtra miles.
Somewhere after the school, my left leg when down into a hole. Shit! The knee definitely was hyperextended a bit. Luckily, some cute little border terriers appeared with their owners. They were perfect therapy dogs. By the time we parted, I couldn't feel any pain. Not long after, the Squirrel hit a hole, but she had a much more interesting, graceful(?) response and wasn't hurt.
We crossed rte 9 back onto the east side of the park. We ran out Knights Woods onto the snomo trail, then made a right. From there we continued out into the field and beyond. We kept running till we knew we'd have our 18 by the time we got back in. Xar had her first BL with extra miles on top :D
We all had wonderful, wonderful soup after at E&Ls. In fact, I had soup and chili.
Saturday, January 5, 2013
New Year's Day and A Couple Nights Later
Mindy had invited the TMs to a New Year's run at the Brad, a perfect way to start 2013. A pretty big group of TMs thought the same thing. I'm not even going to try to name everyone. I'll stick to the group that headed out on the BL; I have a better chance of not leaving any one out then.
Ian and Jamie soon were out of sight. Alan, Bobs Porrier and Dunfey, Nathan, Sean, Yana, Mindy and I followed. In the parking lot, Mindy had said she wasn't running the entire loop. She wanted some NY day left to spend with Pete; based on our last BL experience, it would take a large chunk of the day. She didn't even bring water so she couldn't be tempted. I assumed most of the others were BLing.
BUT! The conditions turned out to be way better than just two days before. Wow, I didn't think the snow mobiles could do much with such dry snow, but it was pretty decent footing. Mindy and I kept marveling how little time it took to get the miles done.
Alan was a bit beat; he'd been running since sometime before 6 am. I brought him some water and Nuun tablets to replenish.
Brad looked his best in the snow and brilliant blue sky. We all marveled fairly frequently at each new scene. Have I said it too often? I love Brad.
Five miles out, the Squirrel said she really better turn around. She was definitely tempted to go on. Smart girl to not bring hydration. Turns out the rest of the crew wanted to head back for various reasons: Alan still had to run home after, the Bobs were doing 50K on Sunday, Yana was just getting her snow legs, and Nathan?, well I can't remember. So, I had to decide: BL alone or have company back and call 10 good? I sadly chose the return, but it turned out to be a wise decision. I was still more tired from two days ago than I realized. The rest of the day, I would nap on and off.
The footing going back was decidedly worse. All our feet had chewed up the trail into sugar. Not as bad as it can be, but notably harder than on the way out. Happy New Year!!!
Thursday night, S&S registered for the Haliburton 100. I'd been debating making myself go out in the dark and cold for a run. The excitement of the confirmation letter made it a bit easier. It was a beautiful run. The packed snomo trails around here also made me excited for Saturday's BL. Brad's trails are always better than here. So I got my 4 miles in at 9:15 at night in the barely above zero temps and enjoyed every step.
Ian and Jamie soon were out of sight. Alan, Bobs Porrier and Dunfey, Nathan, Sean, Yana, Mindy and I followed. In the parking lot, Mindy had said she wasn't running the entire loop. She wanted some NY day left to spend with Pete; based on our last BL experience, it would take a large chunk of the day. She didn't even bring water so she couldn't be tempted. I assumed most of the others were BLing.
BUT! The conditions turned out to be way better than just two days before. Wow, I didn't think the snow mobiles could do much with such dry snow, but it was pretty decent footing. Mindy and I kept marveling how little time it took to get the miles done.
Alan was a bit beat; he'd been running since sometime before 6 am. I brought him some water and Nuun tablets to replenish.
Brad looked his best in the snow and brilliant blue sky. We all marveled fairly frequently at each new scene. Have I said it too often? I love Brad.
Five miles out, the Squirrel said she really better turn around. She was definitely tempted to go on. Smart girl to not bring hydration. Turns out the rest of the crew wanted to head back for various reasons: Alan still had to run home after, the Bobs were doing 50K on Sunday, Yana was just getting her snow legs, and Nathan?, well I can't remember. So, I had to decide: BL alone or have company back and call 10 good? I sadly chose the return, but it turned out to be a wise decision. I was still more tired from two days ago than I realized. The rest of the day, I would nap on and off.
The footing going back was decidedly worse. All our feet had chewed up the trail into sugar. Not as bad as it can be, but notably harder than on the way out. Happy New Year!!!
Thursday night, S&S registered for the Haliburton 100. I'd been debating making myself go out in the dark and cold for a run. The excitement of the confirmation letter made it a bit easier. It was a beautiful run. The packed snomo trails around here also made me excited for Saturday's BL. Brad's trails are always better than here. So I got my 4 miles in at 9:15 at night in the barely above zero temps and enjoyed every step.
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