Saturday, November 22, 2008

Cathance River Preserve Run

Snowman and I headed across the street to meet up with the group for a run in the Cathance River Preserve today. Along with Scott, our leader for the morning's run, Ian, Jamie, Chuck, Blaine, Jeff, Mindy and Kevin showed up. Snowman and I were interested to see where Scott would take us, as we've run through the preserve before, although I haven't been back there in a while. The wind was blowing and it was downright chilly, so we quickly took off into the woods in an effort to warm up. Scott is obviously a very talented runner as he set a pretty fast pace from the start. He took us on a wandering route through the Mt. Ararat trail system and into Highland Green subdivision down by the construction area.

Once we got onto the preserve trails, things got a bit technical, and I settled into the back of the pack with Mindy, Snowman and Kevin. Mindy and I chatted away as we wandered along the Cathance River. It was beautiful along this stretch. The river was flowing nicely and there were some roaring falls. The trails dipped and rose, punctuated by ice flows, lots of downed leaves, roots and hoar frost, which made the footing interesting. At 4 miles, Mindy and Kevin took a shortcut back, as both have been injured and are taking their return to running slowly and trying not to overdo it.

We ran along, enjoying the woods and the wandering trails. Jamie and I were the back of the train. I was glad to have the company, although it was not as nice for Jamie as he's coming back off a bad stomach virus and was running low on energy! Poor guy. As we wound our way back onto the Mt. Ararat trail system, Snowman, Jamie and I took the short way back to the parking lot. The out and back logged in at 9.2 miles on Jamie's GPS, and Snowman and I figured with our run to and from the parking lot, we got in a solid 10 miles. It was a fun run and nice to catch up with everyone. Definitely a great way to start the day!

4 comments:

Jamie Anderson said...

Nice running with you for those last few miles, just wish I could have been more talkative. Great area, sweet you guys have it right there in your backyard!

Blaine Moore said...

It was a fun run this morning. And while I'd agree it's a great way to start the day, for me it was basically my entire day. After my second lap, I went home and had lunch and then napped the rest of the day!

sn0m8n said...

If I had done a second lap I'd still be napping.

pathfinder said...

If I had attempted a second lap, I would surely still be there .....huddled down by the river ....shivering and lonely ....wishing I had headed back at 4 miles like I promised myself earlier.