First Nice Run at Merrill Creek

I took yesterday off and got on the bike.  The top of my foot was still bothering me a bit.  I asked Angie to run with me earlier in the week.  We agreed to meet up today.  She suggested Merrill Creek, so we headed there around lunch time.

This was the first warm, springlike day of the year.  It was nearly 60 degrees when we started.  I wore shorts and short sleeves.  The only issue was that it was quite windy, especially with the water off of the lake.  I was chilled, but not that bad.  If anything, I got hot when we were back in the woods.

Angie had never actually run there, just hiked.  I almost always run the loop in a clockwise direction.  That begins with some faster running.  It was already chilly right at the start.

In no time, we were into the first small woody section.  Then, it was out on to the dam.  This is flat and stone covered.  It has a great view off to the side as well as the water on the other side.  Surprisingly, the water was still completely frozen.  I thought for sure that the ice would be broken by now.

We cruised along.  Angie has a race coming up on Saturday, so she wanted to go very easy.  I'm still recovering from the 40 miler, so I certainly wasn't pushing it either.  Plus, I never push these days anyway.

I like the views from the dams, but I'm not crazy about the surfaces.  I also wasn't thrilled with the wind.  I was very much looking forward to the singletrack.  I stopped and took a few photos of Angie running on the dam.

Finally, after the second dam it was on to the singletrack.  This is a fun section.  It has some nice rolling short hills.  I feared there might be some snow and ice and there was.  Most of the time, it was right on the trail and you could simply run around it.  I enjoyed actually being able to run, so I pulled ahead of Angie a few times.  I'd then wait for her and get some photos too.

This section is all runnable and not overly challenging.  However, there are one or two hills that are quite steep and give a decent workout.  That is especially true whenever I run there in the summer.  This might be a good place for trail speedwork.

The miles clicked away quite fast.  Before I knew it, we were on the other two dams.  We went past a guy walking two dogs.

Then it was on to the last main singletrack section.  This is more technical with plenty of rocks and roots.  I find it to be a blast.  Whenever the trail got gnarly, I pushed myself a bit.  I have a very technical race coming up and need to run as much technical terrain as I can in the next month.

I pulled ahead of Angie a bit and then stopped for photos again.  I told her I wasn't running hard, but I also couldn't help myself.  Trails haven't been very runnable in months, due to all the snow.  I had to enjoy the freedom to run again.

As we ran along, there was a section that was a narrow ridge above the actual Merrill Creek.  I yelled back for Angie to be careful.  A few moments later, I hear a thump.  Sure enough, she tripped and fell.  It was a good thing she only had minor scrapes.

After the bridge, there was a lot of snow and ice.  Some mud too, as there was earlier as well.  I ran ahead a bit again, but not much.  We then ran on some more clear singletrack and finished up the loop around 5.5 miles.

It was a nice recovery run.  My foot did hurt a little at the end, but it isn't too bad.  I don't run with others too often, especially during the week, so it is nice to do so.  Angie and I haven't run since around the summertime, so that was great too. 

I think I'll give my foot more time to heal.  I'll take tomorrow off.  If anything, I might bike again.  I don't know what the weather is supposed to be like.  On Saturday, I'm hoping to run at Trexler.  I need a quality run before Hyner.  I wanted to run at Tammany, but I heard it is still a snowy mess.  That's too bad.  I want my trails back.

5.46 miles - 52:35 (9:38 pace) 810 feet of elevation gain