no contest
I got in a good 70-minute run at
Afton, Saturday. Hopefully I covered about 6 miles; my wayfinding still leaves quite a bit to be desired. It's always an adventure...
The route I picked, which I thought would cover about 6 miles, ended up taking me just 30 minutes. So, I did it again- in reverse. That loop has a hill that is sometimes referred to as "the Meat Grinder." I think that's because it's a hell of a hill to go up- but its grinding action seemed more severe on the descent. I'll go up it rather than down it, any day. I had to walk most/part of it going both directions.
The loop has one nice, winding portion of hill-top prairie, as well as a long stretch of shaded riverside flats. The latter part was of course was the more pleasant, but it was made more so by the contrast of the heat, glare, and mind-numbing
stridulating of the katydids (I assume? Or cicada?), up with the black-eyed susans and coneflower.
All in all, it was a good run that involved only a little bleeding on one ankle (evidently I'm taking the shuffle tip a little too far). Later in the day I wasn't as wiped out, as I was last weekend, after my 10-miler.
This run was a test run of my new
Atalanta running skirt. Loved it! Zero chafing, and a handy pocket held the Gu I didn't need. And it even garnered a compliment from a fellow runner or two. My trail shoes, the Asics Gel-2120's, are still holding up pretty well, though I'm starting to consider a replacement, as the tread is starting to wear down. I logged quite a few miles on pavement, in those, earlier this year.
ribbit
There are no frogs or toads in this photo but it reminds me of the frogs I saw last weekend. I was on a 10-mile trail run at
Lebanon Hills Regional Park, one of my favorite places to run, in spite of the confusing trails and trail markers. It's nearby (well, at least I can justify the 20 minute drive by stopping by Byerly's afterward for a treat -and the weekly groceries- afterwards). It's got a bathroom, water fountain, and covered picnic/stretching area. It has rolling but not monstrous hills, and uneven terrain that keeps my attention enough that I don't want or need an iPod to pass the time.
Now, the 10-mile part gets interesting. I'm still getting a handle on my pace for trail-running, so using my easy road pace (a 9- or 10-minute mile) to gauge how far I've run, just won't cut it: I'm preparing for a half-marathon trail race and I need to be sure I'm ready for the distance. This park easily has 10+ miles worth of trails, but trying to plan a route that specifically covers a mileage can be a challenge, for a variety of reasons. 1) The park recently re-did its maps and removed all the mileage that used to be included for each leg of every path (Poo on them). 2) The park seems to be constantly taking trail portions in- and out of circulation. A runner never really knows if the next expected turn can be taken.
So! Luckily I remember that a certain loop is just over 2 miles. So I did it 5 times. Which, very conveniently, brought me past the bathroom and water fountain several times. All in 1 hour and 49 minutes: about an 11 minute per mile pace. This isn't bad, considering I walked most of the hills (they are short).
The run was enough work that I took a short nap later in the day. That hasn't happened in years. Aside from that, though, my recovery was pretty painless. Onward! I've just got a 6-miler, next weekend. Woo!
