Ran 8.75 miles @ ~8:50/mile pace.
Trails and fire roads. Dry, icy and muddy.
Very hilly.
Weather: mid-40s dropping to low-40s.
Normally I run right from the school I teach at when I'm done, but today was different. The reason I didn't run yesterday was to make sure my new cat settled in okay after bringing him home. Today, I wanted to get home to make sure he was doing okay after his first day alone. He was, and after spending some time to check up on him, I was off in the woods behind my house to do a trail run. Here I wouldn't have to worry about rush hour "traffic" as the night approached.
The conditions ran the full gamut on the trails, complete with dry trails with rocks and roots as well as sections coated with ice, snow or mud. There were also a few stream crossings which were a bit challenging, but all part of the fun.
I took a few new trails this time, most notably once that went around the other side of the lake. Wow, what a treat! The trail was on a high section of land that intersected an icy bog on one side and the lake on the other. The sun was setting and the orange reflection on the lake was very impressive. I stopped to admire it for a few minutes, wishing I had my camera. But I continued on, and when nightfall had finally arrived, I decided to turn around and head home.
With my headlamp on the highest setting, I was able to make good time comfortably on the trails, and was able to pick up the pace on the fire road. I got a bit of a scare at one point as a white blur shot across the trail about 20 feet in front of me. It was a snowshoe hare, in a now full white coat.
Good run, and I had fun. I'll likely do something similar tomorrow.
