Making Progress at Trexler

Maybe I don't give myself enough credit.  After struggling to run 2 straight miles the last 2 weeks at Trexler, I said I wasn't ready to run there and I wouldn't be ready for weeks, if not months.  Today I proved that wrong.  I'm still not conditioned well enough to run the full 8.5 mile loop, but I'm stronger than I thought.  I'm sure I could run/walk the loop at this point.

I headed out to Trexler late in the morning.  I thought about going in the afternoon, but it wasn't going to get much warmer anyway.  It was in the low 20s with a wind chill in the teens.  Saturday evening, we had a couple inches of snow.  That did make for an interesting LVRR Super Bowl 10K on Sunday.  I had fun taking pictures and seeing friends (a lot of them did well too).

I'm trying to make sure I get out to Trexler a lot, so I'm well conditioned for the Quadzilla 15K in July.  I saw my friend Jill at the race yesterday.  She is the race director of Quadzilla and I told her I would be signing up for it the first day registration is opened.  I can't wait!

The snow melted fast on the roads and there wasn't much on the grass around me.  I didn't anticipate that there would be any on the trails at Trexler.  I was more worried about it being muddy again.  To avoid the mud, I was planning on running the normal direction (counterclockwise) which is more rocky and thus has better grip.  I was very surprised when I got out there.  There wasn't much snow in the grass, but the trail was almost completely covered in snow.  I figured that I would just start running on it and if it wasn't runnable, I would stop and go somewhere else.

Dressing for a winter run at Trexler is always tough.  There are so many hills and valleys that if it is windy, it can be warm in some places and cold in others.  At the Environmental Center, right near the parking lot, is probably the worst place in terms of wind.  That was the case today.  As much as I didn't want to wear 3 layers, I couldn't imagine putting on less when I was in this windy section at the beginning. 

While I was getting all of my cold weather gear on, something interested happened.  Out of nowhere, a dog appeared next to my car.  He was standing there just staring at me.  His face looked a little scratched, so I wasn't sure if he was a stray.  I didn't want to pet him since I didn't know where he came from.  I figured that I would watch where he went and then if it was a stray, I'd let the people at the Environmental Center know.  He was a slow old dog and eventually wandered across the street to a house.  He walked in front of car on the road too.  Another dog was barking earlier.  There is always a dog there barking at me.  I couldn't remember if they had 2 dogs or not.  As I pulled out of the parking lot, I saw this dog just sitting in the garage, so he was clearly at home.  At least if that happens again, I will pet him. 

After wearing too many layers, I was off and running.  It starts with a nice downhill and a short, but tough climb.  I ran under control (something I don't usually do in good conditions) and the snow caused no problems.  There were just enough tracks to have somewhere to run, but not enough to make it icy and slippery. 

My real goal was to make it up the first big hill.  I haven't been able to do that since the summer.  I didn't know how it would be with the trail in these conditions.  It was tough and my lungs hurt from breathing a lot of cold air.  I just kept going though and eventually got to the top.  Conditions weren't oto bad and I had now accomplished mission number 1.  Towards the top, the sun had melted the snow and it had very good grip.  That was a big plus.

The hardest thing with these hills, besides going up them obviously, is that it takes so long to recover.  There is a good downhill after this and then a much easier uphill.  I went by the bison pen before the uphill and didn't see any of them out.  I started this shorter hill and still wasn't recovered from the big hill.  Luckily, I knew to just make it to the top and I'd have a good half mile or more until the next uphill.

I went through the wooded section, the open meadow section and then onto the pavement.  This was all flat or downhill and a good recovery.  Right before the pavement, I finished the 1st mile at 10:00.  Certainly not fast, but not bad considering the conditions.

I was wondering how the rocky section would be.  It was definitely easier to navigate with a lot of the rocks covered in snow.  I still had to watch out for sharp ones and slippery ones.  Luckily, I didn't slip at all.  My eyes did become watery from the cold air at one point while going over the rocks.  That was the worst place for that to happen since I had to focus on the ground.  I managed to make it through there alright.

I then began climbing the long hill.  It's not too difficult, but it does seem to go on forever.  If I remember correctly, it is close to a mile.  The good thing is that it levels off for a short period a couple times, so you can catch your breath.  I did just that.  My foot did start to bother me when going uphill.  I think it was due to the snow and running on uneven conditions.  It was my right foot this time, not the left one (which usually bothers me).

I got to 2 miles and then kept going.  My goal was to get to one of the beautiful views after the long hill.  You can see all the way to the mountains in the north.  I haven't been there with my GoPro camera yet, so I wanted to keep going.  I figured that I would probably struggle on the hills at the Environmental Center on the way back, so I might as well go out farther to make sure I get mileage.

There is one section through the grassland that is on the side of the hill and quite steep.  The trail isn't even flat enough for two feet.  It makes it uncomfortable to run on, especially with some snow.  This section isn't long or I might've turned around.  Finally, around 2.6 miles, I made it to the view.  I took a couple photos, but they didn't come out as good as I had hoped.  I really could use more of a zoom on the GoPro.  An interesting thing I noticed is what appeared to be sled tracks from a house to the view.  It would sure be fun to sled at a lot of these places when it really snows.

I wanted to just go out to 3 miles and turn around.  If I did that, I wouldn't encounter any tough hills until leaving the pavement near the zoo exit.  If I made it that far, I would be at 5 miles.  I could manage walking a mile back to the car.

Unfortunately, I didn't quite make it to 3 miles.  The trail started to dip before that and I didn't want to do much climbing.  Plus, my foot was really starting to bother me, so I didn't want to chance it and I headed back at 3.8 miles.

The long hill does kind of suck on the way out, but it is fun going downhill on the way back.  I knew I had a long ways to go before I would have to go uphill again.  I cruised along.  Then I was down the hill and over the rocks.  I entered the paved area.  I know the dirt trail section after the pavement is very steep.  I tend to forget that the pavement is a gradual uphill.

I made it up the pavement, although it wasn't easy.  I had to make it up the short hill (as long as there was enough grip in the snow to climb it).  Initially, I figured I could stop here if I wanted to.  Since I didn't go out far enough, I wasn't at 5 miles yet.  That really meant I'd have to battle up the hill.

It is surely tough, but definitely short and great when you are finally at the top.  I just stayed mentally strong and talked to myself.  I finally was up it and was able to get a little rest.  The flat meadow and woods section was short though.

Now, I had a dilemma.  I still wasn't going to be at 5 miles until I got over the next hill.  I didn't want to stop, so I decided that if the hill got too difficult, I'd turn around and head back down it to get to the 5 mile point.  This was very tough and I was beat up at this point.  I knew I was almost done with the run though, so I kept at it.

I tried not too look at the top the hill too much.  I was breathing heavy and really working, but I continued to battle.  I just took it one step at a time.  Finally, I made it to the top.  If I didn't know the size of a lot of the hills ahead of time, I probably would end up quitting a lot sooner.  That was one advantage I had at Quadzilla last year and a big advantage that I'll have this year.

Even as I got the top, I still had about .2 miles left to hit 5 miles.  I enjoyed the short downhill.  What made it even better was that the bison weren't out.  I decided that I would get off the trail for a short bit and get some pictures of them while I ran.  They stared at me for a few moments.  For some reason a bunch of them started running.  It was weird because they weren't running towards me or away from me.  That was quite a sight to end on.  I thought of the book Running with the Buffaloes (even though that is actually just about training with the Colorado Cross Country Team).

I felt great after being done.  Maybe I could've pushed a little more.  I definitely could've ran another easy mile.  The question was whether I could've ran another Trexler mile.  That is a big difference and I doubt I could've, especially knowing the hills that were up ahead.

As I got to the last hill before the Environmental Center, I was feeling great after some walking.  I thought, what the heck, I might as well run up this hill.  It wasn't fast, but I made it to the top.  I didn't know if I might have to quit early, but I made it all the way.  Just another nice and quick strength builder.

After the run, I had to get some photos of the trail with my good camera.  I took a few shots from the Environmental Center.  Then I got some of the curvy section near the road, even though I didn't run there today.  It looked very cool all covered in snow.

This was such a rewarding run.  I remember going home from Trexler disappointed a few times because it kicked my butt.  I always feel like I have accomplished a lot whenever I complete a run there though.  It is such a workout.  I exceeded my expectations today with 5 straight miles of running on the snow covered trail.

I am so focused and hungry right now.  I will be a Trexler a lot in the next few months.  I want to know the trail inside and out.  I also just want to get much stronger and faster in general.  I'm sure this place will be a big help.  I'm running smarter now by running less mileage, with less speed and less frequency.  That doesn't mean that I still can't challenge myself on difficult courses like this one.  That's exactly what I'm going to continue to do.


I have a 5K coming up this weekend.  I haven't run for speed in some time, so I have no expectations.  I'm just going to run hard and enjoy myself as much as I can.  There is no pressure.  I think when that happens, sometimes you can do amazing things.  A bunch of my friends did better than they thought in the snow at yesterday's race.  Some of that might've been that they gave the snow too much credit or didn't give themselves enough credit for the kind of shape they are in.  I also think some of it might've been that the snow caused them to lower their expectations and thus they took a lot of pressure off themselves.  They just went out there to have fun and ended up doing well.  I hope that can happen to me this weekend.

Tomorrow is an off day.  I may completely rest or I may try hiking.  On Wednesday, I'll be back at it.  Since Saturday's run will be short, I'm considering a long mid week run.  I'd love to do 10 miles.  Perhaps at the D&L Trail.

5 miles -46:54 (9:23 pace)