Yesterday, I ran on the D&L and lost daylight at the end. Then, I didn't get started until almost 7 PM. Today, I wanted to get to wooded trails and finish before dark, so I headed right out the door after dinner. That ended up back firing though.
I went to Salisburgy/Walking Purchase Park for a trail run. I started on Dodson Street Park and began running downhill. I twisted my ankle pretty good, for the first of several times. It was a little after 6:15 when I started the run. About a half mile into the run, I had to stop and go to the bathroom. I was forced to walk/hike back up to the parking lot and use the bathroom.
Luckily, I brought my headlamp along. I added that to my regular short sleeve shirt. It was cool by the end, but still seemed humid there, as it often does. I was soaked by the end of the run on this cool day.
It was still light out when I started the run, but doing over 5 miles on trails, I knew it would be dark before I finished. The headlamp would be needed. This restart made it closer to yesterday's starting time.
Early on, I had fun going downhill. The only issue is that the inside of both calves are hurting. I've back off this week, but maybe it is an issue from all the climbing of the last two weeks. I'll have to be careful with it.
There was some slight overgrowth on the yellow trail, but for the most part, the singletrack was good. I took the yellow loop to the red loop. A female mountain biker went by right before I got on to the yellow. Since she came from one direction, I took the other direction on the loop. Of course I would come across a guy on a mountain bike on this part. There were a bunch of bike racks in the lot, so I sort of expected it.
It was good to get onto the red. This lower part was fun, but also a bit tricky. Some sections are smooth and runnable, but for the most part, it is quite rocky. It's not as bad as the AT, but it does slow you down. I was glad that I wouldn't have to deal with this part in the dark.
The rocks kept me focused. Every now and then, I'd land on the side of one and twist my ankle. I need to think about tying my shoes tighter. I didn't have this problem with my last pair of Salomon's. These aren't supposed to be technical shoes, but neither was my last pair.
There was a lot of downhill and then some uphill. This part seemed to go on and on and on. I couldn't believe how long I was going. I didn't think of these woods as being that long. I guess they are though.
There are rumors about whistling sounds along the road at the bottom. I sort of heard that, but it was just the train cars bashing into each other and putting on their breaks across the river. I don't know why the legend has so much steam to it.
I went out and out and out. There were some fun downhill switchbacks. I kept wondering when the heck I'd get to the stone road. I didn't realize how far out it was. Finally, I could see it next to me. However, the trail went down and down some more before finally crossing it.
I came out and crossed the road and went through the parking lot on the other side. There was a train going by down below. A pickup was parked there as well. It was still light now, but darkness was creeping in.
I looked at the map and saw that the trail just climbed alongside the road, on this side of it. Then, it would cross over at the top. I put my headlamp on and it was part light and park dark.
One thing I learned quickly is that I need a brighter headlamp. It was tough to see the rocks with this one. I had to be cautious and go slow. At least I was climbing, so that was taking me upward slowly.
I was now around 3.5 miles into the run. I didn't have too much opportunity to loop at my watch. If I did, I would've tripped over rocks. There were plenty of rocks, especially on this climb. I almost ended up on the blue trail, but realized my mistake in time.
I saw the truck drive by on the road. Then, I hit a switchback section. At one point, I was alongside the road and thought the trail would cross it soon. However, it kept going up and up and away from it. I didn't quite remember this part and I was wondering if I was going the right way.
The trail was still marked in red, so I kept going. Eventually, I finally went through the rocky section and came to the part I remembered. I crossed the road and went to the other side.
I remember having to briefly go through the overgrown section during our group run here in June. Other than it being dark, this singletrack section back was a lot of fun. It would go in and out and it climbed, but it was very gradual.
It was rocky at parts, but also very smooth sometimes too. When I could, I opened it up. I could hear someone talking loudly at one point. I wondered if they were on the trail or down below near the train tracks. It was a little unsettling, as this isn't the safest place around. It was getting very dark now too.
I cruised along and was thrilled to get to mile 4.5. I ran as much as I could. Once the sun was nearly set, it started to get very cold. I cleaned my handheld the other day and didn't get it back on correctly. Therefore, I lost more water than I actually drank. It was a good thing that I didn't need it, on this quite cool evening.
Eventually, I came out to the junction with the yellow loop. Somehow, we got a little lost in this area in June. However, since I went down and hiked back up earlier in the run, I knew exactly where to go. I continued to follow the yellow trail and began climbing. I knew I was getting closer and closer to the park.
It was very dark in the woods by this point. I nearly made a wrong turn, but I didn't. I came out right where I started. I looked at my watch and it was almost 6 miles into the run. The sun was about to set.
I was happy to be done. The first few times I ran here, I thought it was super rocky. Then, in June's run, it didn't seem as bad. Today, I guess it was a mix. It was quite rocky on the first half, but the climb back up on the top was much smoother. This is a fun little run that I need to do more often. When I have more time, I'll extend it to the full outer loop. That would be around 10 miles. I have never done this whole thing.
I have to be careful with the calves. They were quite sore after the run. I'll definitely back off for the rest of the week. Maybe I'll even take off a day or two. I don't know, as I don't like doing that. If it starts bothering me, I definitely won't force it. Because of that, I have no idea when or if I'll run tomorrow.
Pre-Bathroom Trip 0.60 miles - 6:46 (11:16 pace)
Main Segment 5.80 miles - 1:03:51 (11:00 pace)
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