A Day with the Trail Monsters

After a bright and early wake-up at 5:30am, we headed over to Bradbury to meet up with Ian, Emma and the Trail Monsters for a 7am run in the park. A good size group was gathered, and after quick introductions, we headed off to do the 12-mile Bradbury Bruiser course. I haven't run with such a big group in years, aside from in races, and it was sort of a funny experience to head off into the woods in a long, single file chain out into the singletrack. Snowman and I were near the front, and had fun chatting with Joe, a local high school xc ski coach, for a while. When not talking, I enjoyed listening in on the conversations and jokes going on around me. Time flew by rather quickly, as the combination of keeping up with the group, trying not to trip, chatting, listening, etc kept things interesting. At 6 miles, several people turned off, and the rest of us headed up the Snowmobile trail. The group shifted slightly, with Ian and Snowman up front, and me next to Emma. I enjoyed talking to her, as although I feel like I know both she and Ian a bit through their blog, I really had only met her in person earlier this month at the Breaker race!

I felt pretty good during the run, although as we wound through the "O" trail in the final 2.5 miles of the course, I started to get a bit tired. The "O" trail is akin to a long intestine or serpentine snake as it winds around and around, with a lot of mileage fit into a small amount of land. We finished the run in 2:13. Ian, Emma and a few others headed out for another loop, but I was happy to be done. With this run, I finished the week at 44 miles, the highest mileage I've had in a long time!

We headed home for a big brunch, and then down to Portland. Ian and Emma had invited us and a group of Trail Monsters to their house for snacks and drinks in the afternoon. We made a few stops along the way and finally arrived around 3:30, with the party in full swing. It was great to meet some of the other Trail Monsters - Mindy, Chuck and Katy, Erik - who we've only known through their blogs so far, as well as to have a chance to catch up a bit more with Jamie and Ian and Emma, and meet a few other fellow runners. I had been a bit apprehensive before heading over, as sometimes I'm not the best in groups of people, but I really had a nice afternoon, eating, drinking and talking with everyone. All in all, a great day, and a good time hanging out with the Trail Monsters!