Saturday, January 26, 2008

Bradbury Trails

Had a good long run today at Bradbury Mountain State Park. Ian, Erik and Blain were there at the start, and we completed the three mile loop that goes up Bradbury and then set off on the other trails to get in the miles. Early on we were lucky to spot a pileated woodpecker darting around the trees. Neat looking bird.

We cruised along, talking about race plans and what not when we reached the powerlines. Ian and I decided that we'd run along the paths that parallel the powerlines until we reached 12 miles, which would give us about 21 miles total on an out and back. Shortly after we set off on these paths, Blaine reached the mileage he wanted and turned around and went back, while Ian, Erik and I continued.

A humorous moment when we stopped for a water/refuel break, and Ian had difficulty squeezing the contents of his energy gel out of the packet. The cold had nearly frozen it, and it looked rather amusing in its thickened form, prompting several juvenile jokes that had us laughing pretty hard.

We reached the top of a ridge that marked the 12-mile mark and we turned around and headed back. Ian and I picked up the pace the last few miles. That was tough and I had a little bit of a hard time keeping up with him. But alas, we reached the parking lot when I thought we still had a little more to go. Soon after, Erik came in. We then went our separate ways, which meant a stop at Tim Horton's on the way home for me. Their coffee rocks!

Ran 21.1 miles @ 9:05/mile pace.
AHR/MHR - 146/163
Trails, coated with packed snow, ice.
Very hilly.
10 degrees at start, mid-20s at end. Sunny.
Long pants, fleece jacket, long sleeved shirt, short sleeved shirt, beanie, gloves.


7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey there. How were the trails today as compared to two weeks ago? Still lots of sink holes?

Sorry we missed you. Needed a Vibram FF fix.

Blaine Moore said...

It was a fun run. I got back just as the benefit 5k for Susan was finishing up, so I chatted with David and Don while they waited for the runners to come in. They'd noticed Erik's truck in the lot.

As for the trails vs 2 weeks ago, they were pretty close. Last week the footing was pretty good, but this week the footing was about where it was 2 weeks ago except without the melt that we got on the second half of that run.

Jamie Anderson said...

Actually, I don't think you could have asked for much better today. Way better than two weeks ago.

UMaine Cooperative Extension said...

Sounds like a great time. How long does it take you to get to Bradbury State Park?

Jamie Anderson said...

It's about an hour drive for me. Having that Tim Horton's at the halfway point is a nice bonus.

Runner NYC said...

Holy cow! You do love your hills!!

I've heard of Tim Horton's coffee, but I thought it was only in Canada. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I do like checking out pastries and teas at coffee shops.

Great job out there!!

RunSueRun said...

Aah, Tim Horton's -- one of the many great things about Canada.