After skipping this planned Trexler double loop yesterday, I headed there today to give it a try. Each loop is 8.5 miles, but those are the most hilly 8.5 miles I've ever run. I knew 17 total miles would be difficult, especially alone. Heck, I've rarely even finished a single loop on my own there. I usually cut across by the zoo.
The weather seemed kind of tricky. It was super windy again today. No place is as bad as the Environmental Center. Luckily, I know that, so I tried to ignore the wind. I wore compression shorts and compression socks, along with a short sleeve shirt.
I started off around 1 PM. I haven't run there since October, so it was good to be back. Last time I was there, I did a night run with Flo and some others. I kind of got sick of the place, since I ran there so often early last year.
Today, I was looking forward to seeing an old friend (the trail). I started super easy, since I've never run 2 loops there before. The weird thing was walking about a third of a mile into the run. It just so happens that that is the first big hill. I needed to walk the larger hills today, or I wouldn't make it.
I got to the Bison pen and ran that small hill. It did pay to know the course. I didn't look at my watch too often, since pace didn't matter at all. I had some nice downhill for awhile. I enjoyed the beauty of the place.
It took some time for my legs to get used to this run/walk strategy. They are so used to running straight through on flat surfaces. I walked up the beginning of the long hill. This hill isn't too hard, but it was still too early on to run it.
I began running again when the hill was more gradual. There was a mountain biker slowly climbing it. I almost caught him, but not quite. The barking dogs on the houses next to the trail came out again.
I walked some shorter early hills, but once I was at the top, there was a lot of running to do. Even with this softer surface, my feet were kind of bothered. They are just so beat up lately with all the miles that I am putting in.
Before the run, I bought some electrolyte tablets for my handheld water bottle. I also carried some GU Chomps with me. It was good to be able to eat one of those every so often. They are like gummy bears.
The grass isn't grown yet, so some of the trail sections were hard to follow. I managed to not get lost though. The downhill was fun, but it wasn't long before I was to the uphill parts. I made sure to walk these uphills around miles 3 and 4. Walking up the steep hill wasn't too bad.
There are some parts to run in between the hills. The one super steep downhill was interesting. I tried to take it easy, but was still kind of out of control heading down it. Before long, I was at the creek crossing. It would've been nice to go around it, but that adds another mile to the run.
I went through the creek and it was ice cold. Trying to run again after it, hurt my feet. It had to give it time for my feet to not be so cold and also dry off a bit. With how much my feet hurt, I began wondering if I could even finish one loop, let alone two loops. I kept going though and things got gradually better.
I walked the hill into the zoo area, but then ran some of the grassy hill after it. I normally don't like this one, but it wasn't too bad. I still had to mix in some walking, to make sure I didn't overdo it. Maybe it was because I was going easier or maybe it is because I'm much stronger now than I was last time here, either way, this first loop seemed kind of easy. The moderate hills that I ran didn't give me much trouble.
I was able to run a lot of this second half of the loop. It is largely flat, downhill or only slight uphills. I mixed in walking here and there, just to be safe. I ran over top of a small snake. It was no problem.
I made sure to walk the long hill around mile 6. Right before that, is a muddy section. That made my shoes a mess and nearly got them stuck in it. It was very deep. It was good to get to the top of the hill.
I was running just over a 10 minute pace as I got over the top of the hill. The amazing thing was that it felt easy too. There are rolling hills near KidsPeace. It's actually a good climb, but you don't notice it as much because it is kind of like running long steps. It goes uphill for a short bit, flattens out, then another short climb and then flat again. This happens over and over.
I watched the pace drop and drop. I was tempted to try to get it under 10 minute pace, but I didn't want to force things on the first loop. I got to the last uphill and began walking it.
On this hill, I saw a guy. He started hiking when I began the run. He remembered me and was asking me where I went. He cut through somewhere and couldn't believe that I ran the whole loop in that amount of time. I sort of couldn't either. I took it easy and this first loop was just over 1:25. That might've been faster than I've ever run a single loop there.
I took a short break to refuel, towel off and rest. It wasn't too long though. I was back at it. I felt pretty good after one loop. When I was coming back from surgery a couple years ago, I walked a lot of the loop and felt the same as I did today. The difference is that I went much faster this time. I guess my overall speed is paying off.
Since I felt pretty awesome, there was really no question that I would be starting a second loop. How I'd feel in a few miles and whether I'd finish, that was another story. It was good to know what hills to walk the first time through. I basically repeated it this time around.
The early steep climb was slightly challenging to hike. My lower back began to get a little sore. My legs were still quite good. It was my beat up feet that kind of bothered me. By now, I was in a good groove though and nothing was really a problem. I wasn't paying attention and missed the trail turning. I didn't lose much distance though, before realizing my mistake.
It wasn't long until I was climbing the gradual hill. I walked the beginning and ran the upper part. The dogs weren't out during this loop. I looked at my watch and was amazed that it dropped under 10 minute pace for awhile. I knew the hills would kill that, but it was still fun to see how well I was moving.
I was somewhere around 11.5 total miles and in the 3rd mile of this loop when I realized that some people don't even run a single loop in this amount of time. I wasn't pushing it either. When I got to the top section, it was quite open and windy.
I cruised on the downhill and still felt pretty good. My legs began to tire, but only slightly. I pretty much figured that I'd complete two loops. Maybe it wouldn't be easy at the end, but I'd walk it if I had to.
I got faked out again by the shorter hill before the big hill. For some reason, this one always fools me into thinking it is the big hill. I don't know why. Hiking up the big hill and the one after it took a lot out of me. It was quite the challenge. I still had about half the loop to go. At least I knew most of it would be runnable at that point.
My pace went way up. It was under 10 minutes overall and now jumped to 10:17. With more running, I was able to gradually take it down. Going into the run, I had no time goals. However, after running a 1:25 in the first loop, I wanted to run at least a sub 1:30 second loop. It looked like I was going to do that.
The creek crossing was freezing again. I ran right after it and that took some getting used to again. Then, I walked the long hill to the zoo. I ran most of the grassy hill. My feet were kind of sore, but there was no stopping me now. It was great to be inside of 4 miles to go.
I was able to run a lot over the next section. There were only short hikes here and there. My pace dropped and dropped now. It got close to 10 minutes per mile.
My legs were beginning to lose it, but it wasn't too bad. I knew that I could keep running. I wanted to keep doing that as much as possible. Walking was the only thing killing my time.
I ran quickly through the muddy section this time. That worked out much better. My shoes didn't come close to getting stuck. I ran some of the bottom of the long hill here, but then began hiking the rest of it. While hiking it, I started to feel the first signs of a cramp. I didn't quite cramp up though.
When I got to the top of the hill, I knew most of the rest of the 1.5 miles was runnable. I ran on the dirt road and then continued to run up the rolling hills. My time continued to drop. It was great to get into the final half mile.
I tried to run up the last big hill, but it was just too tough. My legs were starting to get beat and I was beginning to nearly cramp again. I walked it and then ran the last little bit. I was thrilled when I finished up this final loop. Not only did I complete my goal for the day, but I ran this loop in 1:27. I surely didn't fall off much.
This was a lot of fun and a good challenge too. I definitely learned that I need to drink even more. I nearly cramped up trying to get into my car. The 17 miles I ran on this challenging course seemed almost like running a 50k on a flatter course. It was close anyway. It was great to do it on my own too, so that I could test myself out.
This was a good challenge as I get close to my 50 miler. I really should've been doing training like this for a couple months. I'll get what I can out of the next few weeks and give it a go. Running that with Angie will certainly help. I hope the easier pace does too.
I'd love to be recovered enough to work on my speed tomorrow. I'm guessing that won't be likely though. If it is, I'll run a couple mile repeats. I thought about 10X800, but that is too many reps and simply too fast. Hopefully, I can recover decent tonight. I can't wait to run 2 loops again at Trexler again and maybe even 3 loops in the future.
17 miles - 2:52:40 (10:09 pace)
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