A Tale of Two Runs

Ended up deciding that roads were the best option for part one of my Friday long run. I headed over to the Brad after getting Sam up and ready for the day. Mine was the only car in the parking lot and it sure didn't look like there had been a whole lot of traffic the day before, so I was knew roads were the right decision, if only from an effort and time standpoint. It was chilly but calm as I ran down Rt. 9. I ran the first part of the loop that Emma and I had run two weeks prior, and remembering how bad the back roads had been, I stuck my Hillsounds into my pack just in case! Luckily, the bit of extra snow cover from Wednesday's snow atop the ice added enough traction that the Hillsounds weren't needed and I was able to cruise along fairly easily in my screwshoes.

My plan was to run at a moderate pace without any unnecessary stopping. I did stop along Poland Range Road to pee and step onto the snowmobile trail, just to check out the conditions. There had been traffic but the snow was soft and sugary which just reaffirmed my choice. I continued on, just enjoying the quiet back roads. Once I got up and over Loring Road, I took Rt. 9 back to the park -man, that final hill from the intersection with Elmwood is a killer! - and then continued on a bit further so as to get in the final few miles and not end up with too much time between finishing up the road miles and meeting up with Val, Mindy and Anne at 9:30.

I did a loop around the campground (sketchy, so much ice!) to get in the final 10ths ;) and my watched beeped 12.0 miles just as I got back to the car. Perfect! The ladies were all there, so I quickly changed shirts and ate what had become a semi-frozen gel before we headed out onto the snowmobile trails. We found conditions much as I suspected, not quite solid enough with the sugary snow to do much except slip and slide around, with a whole lot of energy just getting sucked back into the snow. But no matter, we were outside on a Friday morning, chatting away and enjoying all the animal tracks atop the new snow along the trail. Snowshoe hare, squirrel, fox, coyote and even bobcat! Tracking in the winter really is fun!

We slowly made out way out of the park and I was more than happy to turn around once our watches hit 3 miles. I was beginning to feel the accumulated mileage and time on my feet along with the variable and soft conditions but managed to keep chugging along even if at a slow pace :)

I somehow didn't end up with ANY photos from the day, but am super happy to have gotten in my long run, and it was fun to finish up the final 6 miles of the day with friends! We capped off the morning with an early lunch at Pineland, which is just what I needed to refuel before I tackled the rest of my day. Thanks, ladies! (18.0 miles)