Stumbling toward the finish

Falling on the trail is not a matter of if; it’s when. My when happened much sooner into my trail running journey than I expected.  I remembered to roll, so I only bruised my ego, encrusted dirt all over the spout of my hand held bottle, and scratched up my elbow a tiny bit. Later, I discovered a nice sized bruise on my hip to go with that scratch. Sorry, you don’t get to see that. It’s a wry irony of being being delicate in a less than delicate sport.

The day after my ugly 5K age group win at Run for the Bridge, I hit the trails for 15 miles. Aside from falling, stumbling repeatedly, seriously considering bagging the whole endeavor after 10 miles,  I ended up walking 3/4 of the last loop.  I severely underestimated how much I overextended myself the day before. And my GPS watch died about a third of the way into the 12th mile. I made it back to civilization just in time to collapse on the pavilion bench before washing myself down at the bike wash and heading home. It was another warm day.

That tumble convinced me that I need both hands free to better balance myself out there.  I nabbed a Nathan Intensity hydration pack for less than $50 from Running Warehouse. I’ve wore it on dog walks to get used to it before racing in it. Time constraints moved my training runs to the dreadmill that week. I took the vest out for a real test two weeks ago at the Dirty Spokes Harbins Park 13.1 trail race.

I loved the Harbins 13.1! I haven’t run that slow since my first half marathon, but that was it an enjoyable race. The course used the shared mountain bike/foot trail, the hiking trail, and the shared horse/foot trail, so there was variety in the terrain.  Dirty Spokes did a marked the course well with flags and barriers; although, during the last mile or so along the trail, I had a little anxiety because the trail itself was covered with pine needles. I finally came upon the 2nd/3rd aid station again, so I knew I was still on the right trail. The bike and hiking trails posed the trickiest footing with lots of “snakes” and inclines/declines. The horse trail was nice and smooth. It’s a popular trail with riders, so there’s usually soft sandy areas that have been torn up by hooves. We all got a nice break to pick up some speed along the fire road/maintenance path.

I stumbled twice and slid onto my butt once when I heard another runner behind me and tried to get out of the way.  I really liked having the pack instead of a belt and handheld hydration. It was so much easier to stay hydrated and get to my fuel. The sound of the sloshing water was rhythmic and comforting. The only problem I had was the inside of my left arm rubbed against the small zippered pocket. It didn’t rub enough to cause a hot spot; just annoyance. I may be able to adjust the straps more to reduce or eliminate that problem. My water stayed nice and cold throughout the run (not so with my hand held bottle even though it’s insulated) and kept my back cool.  My Altras did their job – I had absolutely no foot pain or toe problems during the race.

When I finally made it to the finish I was surprised with a beer glass! The race description had not mentioned a beer glass, so that was very cool. Finishers also received a car sticker (Jellybean attempted to eat mine. Bad dog).  Even though I finished during the awards, there was plenty of bananas, water, granola bars, and other snacks on hand.  Packet pick up included the t-shirt (quality shirt), Clif bars, and Clif Bloks, which came in handy. I stuffed a few more in my pack at the aid stations.

I could  have pushed myself more  for a better time, but I took it easy.  I admit, I was still feeling a bit sore from the previous week’s fall and a nasty charlie horse after one of my cross-training swims earlier in the week.  I enjoyed being able to relax and appreciate the trail. Best of all, I discovered, I can fly!

Dirty Spokes made this a must-repeat race. I’m looking forward to another Dirty Spokes race!

When you roll…

I’m dead

Mother’s Day Gift

Harbins 13.1 Beer Glass

Let’s do this!

The path less traveled

A strong thunderstorm blew through last night leaving the air clear and the sky bright today, just begging me to get outside and run. And run (okay run-walked), I did!  Mid-afternoon, I drove out to Harbins Park. I planned to run along the two paved multi-use paths since it was my first visit there (how that had happened, I’m not sure). Despite the brisk winds, the sun was warm and there was very little shade along the paved path, so when I saw the pedestrian only trail head, I diverted off the paved path. 

Harbins Park creek

Harbins Park is nearly 2,000 acres and has something for everyone – sports fields, playground, pavilions with grills, hiking, mountain biking,  and bathrooms. Compared to Tribble Mill, which is only three miles away (wouldn’t it be cool if a greenway connected these two great parks?) this park seems under-used, except for by mountain bikers. At least three people pulled up and hopped on their bikes as I was leaving. It may ne busier on weekends and at the sports fields. 

A few other trail reviewers have complained that the scenery is a bit boring and the noise from the nearby local airport is distracting. I found a few picture-worthy spots. The pedestrian trail comes close to the Alcovy River,  where I stopped on the boardwalk to take a picture (bottom center) and dump the pine straw and dirt out of my shoes.  I think I may appreciate trail gaiters because I find the trail debris in my shoes bothersome. The river was a bit too far away and down a long sloping granite hill to get a good look, which is unfortunate because it would add interest to the trail. Maybe the pedestrian trail will be extended to run alng side the river at some point. The trail itself is unblazed, but is clear-cut with emergency aid markers about every half mile. Around mile 3, or 1.5 depending which way you go from the trail loop head, are two emergency exit paths to the parkng lot, which was comforting simce I failed to note the trail lemgth before getting off the path. Around mile 4, I passed a guy walking in the opposite direction, so I knew I s close to the end. Sure enough, around 4.5 miles, I had made a complete loop. 

The trail itself is single-track with some nice inclines and declines, is mostly pine straw covered with a few areas of protruding  roots, very few rocks, and enough twists and turns to keep you sharp. It was mid-afternoon, so more wildlife saw me than I saw of them (though I was ever watchful for snakes).  I’ll be back out there for more miles soon, especially since I have a 13.1 race at Harbins next month. Maybe you’ll join me! 

Into the Woods

Today, for my usual Tuesday run, I headed out to Tribble Mill Park.

Generally, I run the paved path around the large lake, going around it twice to get roughly 6 miles. Instead, I headed to the smaller lake and ran the trail around it.

I was surprised when I hit the trail head after just about two miles. I felt happy and comfortable, despite not rectifying my trail shoe situation, so I turned around and went back the way I came.   Aside from a few people fishing (I think I scared a little girl who wasn’t prepared for anyone to be running along the trail – though she did refer to me as “a girl” 😀 ), one couple, and a dog-walker, I encountered only trees, birds, pollen (sniffle sniffle), and turtles on a log. I admit, they startled me the first time I passed them as they splashed into the lake. There was a cooling breeze off the lake and plenty of sunshine through the trees. A great run overall. I really need to get into a good pair of trail shoes before I tear up my feet.