Bradbury Run and Hike

I was the first one in the parking lot this morning at the Brad at 6:50am. The air was crisp and the woods were quiet. I ran the mountain side of the BBU course first, hitting the leave-strewn singletrack of Krista's and the wide expanse of the Connector. Mist rose from the stream, and as I hit Lawrence Road, the almost-full moon hung low in the light blue sky above the frost-covered fields lined with autumnal toned trees. Very pretty.

By the time I got back to the Summit on my way to go up and down Lunchbreak, there were a few people taking in the vista, but I saw no one on the trails until I headed across the street and down Knight's Woods, where a runner was stopped by the edge of the trail on her cell phone. I actually managed to run the whole course correctly despite the very leaf-covered singletrack and my penchant for getting confused out there :) By the time I hit the meadow, my legs were feeling a bit tired, but overall my energy was good and I managed to run the 15.3 in 2:54 including several potty stops, a stop to tie my shoe and a stop to pick up a dropped Gu (gotta figure out opening the gels with gloves on), so I'm pretty happy with that.

Tried a mango Huma gel. Not too sticky sweet and not a bad taste, but slightly odd texture. I wouldn't rule it out entirely but don't think I could stomach them every 1/2 hour.

Met up with Amy for a coffee and treat at Edna & Lucy's after the run - it was good to catch up with her for a bit - and then Mom, Dad and Sam arrived in time for lunch. Yum.

After lunch, we headed back to Bradbury and went for a short hike. We hiked up the Terrace Trail, enjoying the sun dappled woods and the leaves crunching underfoot, and down the Switchback. Sam took a nice digger on the way down the Switchback but managed to avoid an egg on the head this time ;)

All in all, a lot of fun time spent at Bradbury today!