For the first time during a run at Twin Brook this year mud made an appearance. This Tuesday Emma and I found some of the most varied trail conditions we've come across in a long time. Despite the recent warm temps we anticipated ice and both wore our screwed Inov-8's, and were later grateful that we did.
The groomed ski trails in the fields were mostly hard packed snow but we came across several long stretches of ice that would have sent the unscrewed runner careening off the trail. When we came out by the baseball and football fields on the northern side we discovered a huge area of construction with deep muddy tire tracks and big ditches half full of water. Determined not to have our run disrupted we romped through the construction site and made our way back onto the snowy trails beyond.
When we arrived at the second of the twin brook crossings we found the concrete bridge that normally spans the brook below had collapsed under the force of high waters. This made crossing a lot more interesting than usual, especially since my headlamp died and the two of us were sharing the light of one. The next stretch of trail hadn't seen much action lately since the grooming machines and most people couldn't get across the collapsed bridge.
Lately I've found that when I'm running in adverse conditions, especially with Emma, my mind turns to the Vermont 100 Mile Endurance Run where I'll be running this summer with Emma as my pacer. Whenever I find myself in a difficult situation where I doubt my strength or lack motivation I think about how these things are all part of preparing for the challenge of running 100 miles. If I can't get through a 6 mile run how can I run 100? So we grit our teeth and we push on through whatever the trail throws at us.
time: 55:27
distance: 6.0 miles
pace: 9:14
heart rate: 149/172
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