I went over to Bradley Palmer this morning to get in a long trail run. I started running at 8:15. My plan was to run 2 laps of the Fat Ass course and then another 2 to 3 miles to get in 14 or 15 for the day. I could tell about 2 minutes after the start that it was not going to be a nice morning for a run. It was sunny, hot and humid. The deer flies were buzzing. The mosquitos were out. The poison ivy was rampant. The grass was tall and itchy. On the plus side, I did have the trails to myself though. Guess everyone else was inside enjoying the A/C! Ryan was planning on bringing his parents and Sam over to walk around for a bit while I ran. I called him 3 miles into the run, and told him not to come. I think I probably screamed at him, saying " It's terrible out!" I was bathed in sweat. And I still had a lot of miles to go. I was not exactly in a happy place. Then I turned onto the single track. It was crawling with poison ivy. I went about 5 feet and turned around. So much for my plan. Ah well, I took a promising looking single track trail right across the way that headed down toward the river. The trail ran though a pine forest. There was no poison ivy. A breeze kicked up. The river was lovely looking, with some pretty water lilies. I spotted a huge Great Blue Heron grooming himself on a downed tree in the reeds. OK, I had calmed down a bit and was feeling a bit better.The trail wandered along the river and popped me back out near the park entrance. I ran back to the car, with the Garmin showing 5 miles.
Hmmm. What to do? What to do? I decided to try following the FA course backwards, and see if I could bypass the singletrack to make a nice loop. Along the way, I continued on a portion of trail I had not taken before. It was nice. I saw a cardinal pair, and a few catbirds. A little garter snake slithered across the trail to hide in the underbrush. The trail was lined with jewelweed. I stopped in an open area where a little breeze was blowing and rubbed a few big stalks on my legs, just in case. The last thing I needed was a case of poison ivy! The trail ended at a road so I turned around, and continued along the FA course.
I ran by the single track exit, and popped right back out along the course only a 1/4 mile or so from the turn into the single track. Great, I knew where I was! Being a creature of habit, I decided to run the river trail again. This time when I got back to the car, the Garmin was reading 10.44 miles. OK, still a few more miles to go. I can do it. I headed back out onto the pavement and explored a few side trails. I think the heat finally caught up to me around mile 13 and I was ready to be done. I got back to the car at 14.5 miles, with the time reading 2:12:38, and called it good. The sweat was literally dripping down my legs. I was soaked. Gotta love these summertime runs!
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And now for some cute Sam pictures from the weekend!
Watching Elmo with Auntie Meg and Uncle Chris
Playdough fun with Auntie Meg
Having fun with a musical push toy!
Looking cute :-)
Pink from head to toe! :-)
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