Variable

Today's trail run certainly met the definition of 'variable conditions'! I decided to stick close to home and check out the trails around us. My run took me on packed snow, mushy snow, ice, undermined snow, puddles, mud, dry sand, wet sand and everything in between. I ran up and over Mt. A. and out to the Heath. There had been enough traffic out there that the singletrack wasn't too bad, although I had to pay careful attention lest I step slightly off the thin ribbon of trail, in which case I postholed. Across the street, it was more of the same, although the conditions just got more variable. I stuck with it only because it was just so beautiful down along the river and because the trail would tease me with a few short stretches of packed snow here and there, good enough to convince me I should keep going :-) I had a few really good postholes amidst the slipping and sliding, and two incidences of really wet feet! Thank goodness it was warm enough out that it wan't an issue!

The river was roaring

I finally got back up to Highland Green Road, only to find they hadn't plowed the dirt stretch! Oh man. Once more, I slipped and slid and got muddy and wet. Down to Tedford and then onto the powerlines for a short out-and-back before the final 2 miles home. Today's 8 miles took a really long time since I averaged 12-minute pace but I just put my head down and got it done. Despite the conditions, it was nice to be out in the woods, and I had to focus enough on each step that my mind just sort of went blank and there was no internal jibber jabber about anything much at all. Sometimes that can be a good thing :-)