To run the Blessing or not to run...hmmmm...still drumming my fingers on the desk and pondering what to do...on the other hand, I officially registered for the Chatfield Hollow 50K this morning! So that's on the distant horizon :)
Tuesday, 7-22 - 0 Miles.
Wednesday, 7-23 - a.m. - 4 Miles (Trail) - SHS XC trails, Stonington. Took the Black Belt kids for a training run. Two of them go to SHS, and they sort of knew the trails (but not really)...hot day, and they wilted after a little over a mile. I did a bit more exploring, the secondary trails were a bit confusing and overgrown, but the deerflies seemed to have the day off! Waiting for FiveK to let me know if there were more trails I missed, or if that was it...
Thursday, 7-24 - 0 Miles.
Friday, 7-25 - 8.5 Miles (Trail) - Chatfield Hollow State Park, Killingworth, CT. As stated above, I'm registered to run the inaugural Chatfield Hollow 50K in October. I'd been there before, to run the Chatfield Trail across the street, but hadn't ventured onto the trails for the course so I figured I'd print out a map, grab a handheld, and do at least one loop. Or that was the plan...
I arrived at the park, and pulled into a parking spot in front of a really nice pond. Lots of people walking, biking, getting rock climbing gear prepped...wait, what?
I geared up and set out on the initial part of the run, a short distance down a paved road, then turned onto the first trail section. And went up. Immediately a steep uphill section that went on for a ways, followed by a just-as-steep downhill, and technical. I love this kind of trail. After it levelled off, I crossed a covered bridge, cut over to the next section, and the climb began again. And then I made the first of several wrong turns, which was made worse by the fact that my map, which I was holding, was falling apart from my sweat...as I made it through the main park area and into the eastern side of the course, I made another couple of wrong turns. I still managed to cover almost all of the course, just not in order. I also added a trail called the "Witches Hollow Loop," because it sounded cool and ended up being a pretty awesome short loop.
Grabbed a quick drink at the truck, tossed out the map, and ran the first section again, just to figure out where my first mistake was. Got that corrected, and finished up at 8.5 miles with 1150' of elevation gain for my trouble. Nice day! Some deerflies and webs, but not as bad as I expected...
Thursday, 7-24 - 0 Miles.
Friday, 7-25 - 8.5 Miles (Trail) - Chatfield Hollow State Park, Killingworth, CT. As stated above, I'm registered to run the inaugural Chatfield Hollow 50K in October. I'd been there before, to run the Chatfield Trail across the street, but hadn't ventured onto the trails for the course so I figured I'd print out a map, grab a handheld, and do at least one loop. Or that was the plan...
I arrived at the park, and pulled into a parking spot in front of a really nice pond. Lots of people walking, biking, getting rock climbing gear prepped...wait, what?
Nice pond!
I geared up and set out on the initial part of the run, a short distance down a paved road, then turned onto the first trail section. And went up. Immediately a steep uphill section that went on for a ways, followed by a just-as-steep downhill, and technical. I love this kind of trail. After it levelled off, I crossed a covered bridge, cut over to the next section, and the climb began again. And then I made the first of several wrong turns, which was made worse by the fact that my map, which I was holding, was falling apart from my sweat...as I made it through the main park area and into the eastern side of the course, I made another couple of wrong turns. I still managed to cover almost all of the course, just not in order. I also added a trail called the "Witches Hollow Loop," because it sounded cool and ended up being a pretty awesome short loop.
Grabbed a quick drink at the truck, tossed out the map, and ran the first section again, just to figure out where my first mistake was. Got that corrected, and finished up at 8.5 miles with 1150' of elevation gain for my trouble. Nice day! Some deerflies and webs, but not as bad as I expected...
Caution Glamorous! Caution Hot!
Going to be a tough course - at 10K, or 20K, and especially at 50K. I've had a couple of people diss the 5-loop deal, but I've had some good things happen for me at loop courses, as I can set up my own "aid station" with the fuel and hydration I use regularly. I do need to get back there and nail down the exact course, though, so another trip is on the horizon...maybe I can drop Lori off at the outlet stores up the road, and make it a package deal...
Saturday, 7-26 - 0 Miles.
Sunday, 7-27 - 10+ Miles (Trail/Road) - Three runs in North Stonington:
a.m. - 1.2 Mile dog jog on trails up the street. I let the dog lead, and he kept to the trail very well. I ate three webs...
a.m. - 3-ish Miles on the Narragansett Trail with Jim H. The last time I took a shot at the High Ledge segment, I was pretty sure I had it but my GPS was screwy and I didn't get credit for it. This time I worked for it and got it, and by 1 second. Shhh...don't tell Jonny!
p.m. - 6+ Miles on local roads. The girls went to see a play, so I went for a run. Muggy! Went out with the intention of getting a longer run in, and added a few pole-to-pole sprints, and took a shot at a Muddy-owned segment, but fell short by 4 seconds. Next time!
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