Frozen Mashed Potatoes

D and I head to Bradbury today in hopes that the trails would be firm following the spring-like weather of the past few days. We were in luck, as the Snowmobile Trail had seen both traffic and was pretty solid. (Which makes sense because it started snowing pretty much as soon as we arrived.) It was by no means smooth, but we weren't sinking in with each step. We decided to turn around at four miles after D nearly yakked up her breakfast due to the stench of the manure piles that line the field.



As it turns out, that pile is almost exactly four miles from the parking lot. We'd planned for a longer run together, but the sushi we had last night for dinner was sitting too well in D's stomach. Once we returned to the parking lot, we headed out onto the 4-mile Fat Ass course, but with the rumblings she turned around after another half mile. I continued on the loop, and while the conditions were firm that weren't exactly good. For the most part, the Boundary Trail was well-packed and fairly smooth...except when it wasn't. The few stream crossings were interesting. As I attempted to cross one of the streams, the chunk of snow I was standing on collapsed into the stream...so soggy. The Tote Road is a whole other story. It's a festival of postholing destruction. OK, not the whole thing, but there are a lot of holes in it. The last section of it between the cut over to the Boundary Trail and the Northern Light Trail is the worst. It's seen less traffic, so it's less packed and has bigger holes.

OK, I'm not complaining, it was a great run. It just wasn't easy. I'm soft, you see.

What I am complaining about is the song that was in my head for the entire time I was running by myself. Maybe that's why I picked up the pace...

Slush Season

So squishy. That's the basic description of today's run. Soft snow, slush, mud and icy water. My feet were cold, and stuff was spraying everywhere. And, in short, it was a lot of fun.

I did the newly-discovered-to-be-short 5-mile loop around Highland Green this afternoon.



It's a nice loop, and I'll definitely be adding more to this route in the spring using the Cathance River Nature Preserve trails.

Another good run, and I'm starting to feel kind of in shape. In the back of my mind, I have this little voice that keeps telling me I'm behind in my training for the Pineland 50k, but I'm doing my best to ignore it. Hamstrings are still tight, but better. Or at least, they're loosening up more easily. Onward.

Simpson's Point

Hit the roads today (Oh the horror!) for a not really long run. I chose a 9-mile loop that starts at Bowdoin and makes its way down to the ocean at Simpson's Point.



Aside from the fact that I was freezing running into a headwind for the first mile, the run went mostly smoothly. As I mentioned to D tonight, it was easy, but I never felt comfortable. Hamstrings are still tight (I know, I know. I'm a broken record...but...that's the deal...), and I just felt kind of tight all over. 1:15:49 for the 9 miles. Right where I should be for that level of effort, which in all honesty, was minimal. Good stuff.

That being said, I did get passed in the last .25 mile by a female Bowdoin student. She was doubled over panting after she stopped when I passed her a few seconds later. But, I don't think that was from her run. ZING!

Snowmobile Follies

Off with the skis and back into the running shoes today. I headed back to the same snowmobile trails off Rt. 2 that I ran a couple weeks ago. The conditions were dramatically different. I wasn't surprised by this, but theory and practice are two very different things. The trail had been groomed, and it had seen a fair amount of snowmobile traffic. (Surprisingly, no other footprints.) And that snowmobile traffic had turned the hard packed surface into sugary, soft powderiness in the center of the trail. The far edges of the trail, which hadn't quite been hit by the sleds, was firmer. Nothing was firm, just firmer. Hence, the going was slow. Plus, I had forgotten how damn hilly it was on the way out. Really hilly. I turned around at what I guessed was 2.5 miles, and I was 3:30 faster on the way back. The soft snow was a blast on the way back because I could really let it rip on the hills. Good times, and a great run.

Of course, I had to have a little drama because the run almost didn't happen. I almost got the car stuck trying to park. The side road where I parked is very narrow, and today there was a a little bit of loose snow on some solid ice. It was basically this:


Before I hopped in the car, I changed my wet, sweaty shirt. Just as I was standing there in tights, no shirt and a beanie, three snowmobiles went ripping by on the trail just a few yards from my parking space. I'm sure I made it into their post-ride stories.

Blah

Yesterday, it snowed. It was snowing heavily when I woke up, and I decided that I was going to be unmotivated. I'm not sure if this was a conscious decision or not. Aside from a brief shoveling stint, I was a slug. No activity. I did, however, watch Point Break. "I am an EFF BEE EYE agent!"



Today, it didn't snow. However, it was full of meetings. Not good times. I managed to sneak out for a short ski just before complete darkness fell. I just wasn't feeling it. Nothing specific, just blah. I did wish I was running, though. I don't think that's entirely healthy. Or, perhaps, I'm just focused. (Yeah, I'm not buying that either.)

Planning to try to explore some more snowmobile trails tomorrow. Hopefully, they'll be firm enough for running.

So, aside from Point Break, the best thing that happened was the groovy new header image I made. Look up.

This Makes No Sense

The hamstring issue has been an on-going saga. Well, saga in the sense that they've been tight every day. So, of course, I was somewhat concerned as to how they would feel after yesterday's long run. Well, today they felt better than they've felt in weeks. The lesson here: run more. I've officially given up trying to figure this whole running thing out. Maybe it was the donuts.

With that in mind, D and I headed out in the snow this afternoon. (We specifically waited until it starting snowing because we're hardcore.) Luckily, her back is feeling better, but she still didn't want to push it. We headed for the Commons and ran 3 easy miles together. After our loop, I added an addition 2 miles on the road. Parts felt great, and I'm feeling confident about boosting the mileage and level of seriousness. Or at least the level of donuts.