Sunday, January 31, 2010

Big Miles, great trails, and new friends

A big mileage week, some new trails that redefine big hills, and a weekend party with some new runner friends at the LRRC. 50+ miles in the bank by the end of today.
Today a group of folks got together and ran a portion of the Buzzards A.C. Marathon Course. All I can say at the end of the day is wow! Fantastically hard, long climbs (the gas line power cut deserves special mention as it is particularly evil in so many ways!), sweet downhill that are mostly runnable, and some nice level fire road to do some actual running! The views from the ridge tops were superb despite the cold conditions, the sun shone all day long, and the conversation was excellent except when everyone was sucking air on the salmon trail leading up to the horseshoe trail.

Ran a good deal of the day with my running buddy Steve (the ultra machine) Goss who is two weeks out from his first ultra marathon. Considering that we ran 20 yesterday, and 16 today I think that he's in great shape for finishing Holiday Lake 50K++
Yesterday was the coldest day of 2010 so far, and naturally we picked that day to do 20 on the trails around Mt. Gretna. We both (Steve and I) started the run with a twisted butterfly wing around the Governor Dick tower and trails that surround it. After a brief stop back at the car (aid station) to top off bottles, eat, and get dry clothes we head off for the other half of the butterfly loop. 5 hours and 10 minutes later we end up back at the car tired and ready for some serious nutrtion and rehydration!

Home for a short time to shower and then I attended the LRRC yearly banquet. Being new to town, new to the club, and not a particularly outgoing person
when first meeting people I was a little unsure of how the evening would turn out. However from the moment I walked through the door everyone was so friendly, talkative, and generally embracing of a new comer! The beer was terrific, the food was really awesome, and the conversation and laughs flowed as fast as the beer. I look forward to many more parties with the LRCC folks.

Start of Sunday Run on the Buzzards A.C. Course.






Stream crossing at 20 degrees!

1 comment:

  1. So good to see you running with a like-minded group of new friends up there! And with no snow on the ground---jealous. No school for us tomorrow (it's actually our first snow day of the year), so I will run a bit on the reservoir loop.
    Take it easy before Holiday Lake and pace yourself this spring...you have a BEAST of a schedule lined up for the year, and you want to still be in the game on Dec 11!!

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