Mother's Day Run at Pineland

I signed up earlier this week for the Pineland Farms 25k. As much as I'd like to run another longer race, I just don't feel like I've been doing enough training since Gator Trail to pull off a decent 50k at Pineland. I also think that mentally it would be tough to do the 50k, given that the last race I did was a 50k, and I'd constantly be comparing time, pace, etc. And there is no way I'm up for the 50 mile right now. So, the 25k it is, with the goal of running as fast as I can. I even threw out there that I'd like to beat Ryan's time from last year :-) Of course, in fairness to Ryan, he is in much, much better shape now and could likely blow away his own time if he wanted! I just figured it would give me something to go for during the race!

Speaking of the race, although we will line up on the starting line in only three weeks, I had yet to run at Pineland before this morning. Pineland is a great trail system, full of ups and downs and a relentless flow that doesn't offer much rest. The trails are wide and meander through the woods and fields, down by the river and next to the working farms. There are always pretty wildflowers to look at in the spring. However, despite all this, Pineland is not my favorite place to run. I guess I just like the single track of Bradbury and the Cathance trails better. But I wanted to at least get one run in under my belt before the race! So today was the day!

Ryan was nice enough to indulge my Mother's Day wish for a trail run this morning, so he and Sam hung out at home while I headed over to Pineland. Valerie had said she would join me, and told me Dora was going to come along too. Fun! Of course, when Valerie pulled up, she said she had revised her plan, and was just coming by to say hi before heading to Bradbury to run some gentler, slower miles. Bummer! I wish she had wanted to run with us, but I respected her choice, and so Dora and I headed off down onto the Campus loop without her. We had a great time catching up, chatting the whole way and keeping up a good solid pace too! Dora kept asking if she was slowing me down, but honestly, I felt like I was just trying to keep up with her :-) Anyway, we had a nice run along the lower race loop, minus the fields, enjoying the sunshine and the cool breeze. Once we crossed the road to the Oak Hill section of trail, Dora veered off to do the shorter inner loop and I set off alone down Gloucester Hill. I tried my hardest to keep up the ~9:00 pace we'd been running, and managed to run the whole way, not walking anything, and still feeling pretty good. As I got back to the start/finish area, I looked down at my watch and figured I would head back onto the Campus loop for a short ways to get the mileage to an even 13. Although I had originally had 15 miles in my head as my goal, I knew I was running strong and that these 13 fast miles would be just as good. Not to mention, as I popped back out of the woods by the YMCA, I spotted my two favorite people playing in the grass - hurray! After I changed, the three of us headed over to the Market for some lunch, and Valerie found us there. It was nice to catch up with her for a bit, even if we didn't get the chance to run together.  All in all, a great way to start Mother's Day! :-)

Flora and fauna notes: Lots of things blooming in the woods! Trout lily, starflowers, red trillium, a few bluebeads popping up, wild oats, rue anemone and more. Dora and I were so busy chatting, I didn't hear any birdsong, although I did note a few swallows dipping and diving above the fields.