Cathance Run #2

Yesterday, Dad, Sam and I visited with my grandmother Mim for a while in the afternoon, which was nice. It is really wonderful that Sam has both a Mim and a Great-Grammie and Great-Bampie to enjoy! There aren't too many kids who can say that. I was feeling a bit tired, so took my planned day off, even though Dad said he was happy to watch Sam while I ran. That meant that today, I needed to get in my long run for the week. Of course, Sam didn't sleep well last night and I was exhausted when I woke up. But, what can you do? I just had a big cup of coffee before I left, and brought 2 caffeinated GUs with me on the run for some extra energy.

I originally had 14 miles penciled into my planner, but the reality is that 14 miles on the roads just isn't going to do me much good in getting my legs ready for Pineland. So, I took Ryan's suggestion and decided to start my Garmin and head across the street to the Cathance trails and run for around 2 hours. I meandered through the Mt. Ararat trails and then veered onto the packed gravel cart path of the Highland Green Golf Course to run holes 1 and 2 before heading back out on the trails that Ryan and I had run on Monday. I followed the same wandering course as we did two days ago, but added in the Ravine Loop. On the Ravine Loop, I got a bit turned around, as I've only run it once, and it was a bit less traveled, but managed to only lose a little bit of time before I got back on track. I added holes 7, 8 and 9 to the end of the run, and ended up with 10.33 miles in 1:45:43. Not the fastest 10 miles ever, but decent for the twisty single track and the variable trail conditions. Plus, this got me back to the house just in time to take over Sam duties before Ryan headed out the door for an appointment.

I was feeling pretty beat when I finished - this was my longest trail run in over a year, and I'm pretty happy with the effort, even if it wasn't the 14 miles on the schedule. Plus, it was a beautiful morning to be out, with the sun bright in the sky, the temps in the 30s and some nice trails to run! It was gorgeous again along the river, and even running along the quiet cart path was pleasant. I saw and heard lots of chickadees, heard the call and pecking of a Pileated Woodpecker, and got a glimpse of a mink running along the bank of the river.