I've been pouring over ever ultra marathoning website I can find about training and any general info. I have read quite a few articles on B2B long runs, or back to back. I figured this weekend would be as good as any to give it a try. Friday, KK, Kevin and I all headed out to do a nice trail run at Kittatiny. It ended up being an awesome 6 miler. Longest that Kevin has gone and it was such a gorgeous day for it. We all talked nonstop, enjoyed the scenery and just ran. Loved it!
I wanted to head out each morning of the weekend and get progressively longer each day. Saturday I also had class at 11 so my time was limited. I got to the park about 8am and found the parking lot full already!
I started out on the Black/white dot trail. KK and I always pass this trail and say that we're going to come down that trail on the tail end of our run. We never do, so today I thought, with no specific trail route in mind, that I would head up there and see where it comes out. What a great choice!! I found myself heading almost directly uphill, but nothing bad enough to warrant a walk break, and before I knew it, I was at the top heading down. I ran through a meadow and down another slope to find myself at the trail head for the Blue Trail. This is a trail that we had been on before with Henry and Niko but it's been a while by myself. I was about a mile into the trail and I was soaking in the scenery. I had just come up a hill, on a walk break, and decided to stop and look around for a minute. I saw a little chipmunk sitting on a log eating a nut. It was adorable, just hanging out, not doing anything. I was maybe 3-4 feet from it. All of a sudden, I hear a "womp womp womp" like the blades of a helicopter. Then.....BAM!!!!! This red tail hawk comes zooming in from behind me, grabs the chipmunk, snaps SOMETHING off it and takes off!!! Just a small blood spot on the log and that was all that was left of the little guy! Incredible!! I was awestruck at the speed the hawk came in at and made the kill.
Hawk's Breakfast 8 miler by fin16 at Garmin Connect - Details
I was pretty stoked about the hawk kill so I think I picked up the pace a bit. I finished up the black/white trail, crossed over the yellow and continued up the blue trail. I stayed here for a bit. Nice down hills, some technical uphills, which thank God I walked, and then finally out onto the Sussex Branch Trail. I only followed this trail for about 1/4 mile then picked up the Red trail. From what I could tell, the red trail headed out to Andover and I didn't feel like going the entire way out there. I was feeling kinda of isolated and stalked. With thoughts of the hawk circling above and then the vultures pulling up the rear, I headed back towards the white trail. On my way back I passed by a mountain biker struggling up the hill I was just about ready to head down. After wishing him good luck I headed out.
As I was coming up the backside of the white trail, heading for the car, I saw a mountain biker taking a rest at the bottom. As I got closer, I realized it was the same guy from the Red trail! He greeted me with "You again?" "Yep, YOU again!" Very cool! Have a good day!
I like the fact that there are still nice people out there : )
