This morning I got my first little taste of the Bulldog Trail Run course. Much to my surprise when I arrived around 6:30am, it was raining! Rain in August?! Who would’ve thunkit? It was a light rain and cooled the morning down but I’m sure come race day, the weather conditions will be very different. I am still going to be expecting very different.
One thing I am certainly loving about trail running is the beauty in the views. I seriously forget there is a busy-crowded-noise bustling-city just a few miles away. Never have I imagined running in the mountains…ever. And here I am. Doing it.
After the last long trail run I did a few weeks ago, I was so thankful to know this one was mostly fire roads. Sullivan Canyon had a lot of rocks in the beginning of the run. But not this one. However, this one definitely has it’s fair share.
There is a stretch a couple of miles in, where it’s all rocks. Lots and lots of rocks. Little rocks… Medium Rocks…
…and big ol’ ginormous rocks!! Yes, these huge things greet us on the trail. Good to know.
Watch your step!
I heard this area was used to film the series M*A*S*H and there are still artifacts that reside here. Not sure if they were intentionally left behind, or if there were just forgotten about. Most likely intentional.
Did you forget about me?
I are here
I had stopped to take a photo of this direction sign when a very nice gentleman came by and offered to take my photo with it. How sweet was that? He came running up and says, “Would you like me to take your photo?” I said “Oh yes, would you please?” The funny part was, he confused me with someone else who took his photo at the previous training run. He says, “Of course, since you took a photo of me a couple of weeks ago and it came out great!” I was in the process of telling him, “Oh, no, that wasn’t…” when he quickly said “stand right there.” Well alrighty then. I offered to take his photo “again” but he didn’t want to.
Boston must be right around the corner.
My new set of wheels.
Once I got done with my touristy moment at the M*A*S*H site, it was back to business at hand. I felt pretty good for most of the run considering I didn’t really run this week. Yeah, a busy, tiring week left me feeling, well, tired. However, I was determined to make it out this weekend no matter what!!
Heading in the right direction.
From now until race day, I really do need to concentrate on hills. Because shortly after passing the sign above, it was all hills. I ran up some. I walked up some. I walked a lot when I came across a fellow Legger who is participating in the 25K as well. I chatted with her for about half a mile and then it was time for me to turn around and head home. She was going to complete the whole course this day, but I knew I wasn’t. I want to save the entire course for race day. I bid her adieu and ran most of the way back.
One thing that I quickly remembered were those darn rocks that were waiting for me. Good thing they don’t last long but they are still very unnerving. I didn’t really run during this portion because it would be so easy for me to catch a toe and trip. However, I have a feeling there are more rocks further on down the course. I didn’t reach them this time, but maybe I’ll head out again before the race to see if I can get a little more preview. Or maybe I should just be surprised? Hmmm.
Why, hello again?
Lately, I’ve been manifesting a lot of things in my life. Last weekend when I was talking to that nice Legger gentleman I was asking him things about the course. One thing I asked was, do you see any wildlife? He said “no.” Well, then my previous post, I had mentioned deer. In fact, it was the title of my post! Well, guess what? I saw one today! Actually I saw two, but the smaller one, scurried up the mountain when it realized I was there so I didn’t get a photo of it. They were most likely momma and baby, and I had just turned around a corner when I saw them casually walking along the trail. I immediately stopped running towards them and didn’t move. I just stood there and let them be. They both turned around and baby decided to run up. Momma just looked back at me probably wondering what I was going to do. I didn’t do anything. I just waited for her to move it along and she eventually did.
You lookin’ at me?
During my first long trail run, I even worried about seeing a bear. And guess what? I saw one too!
Da bear.
Okay, I seriously shouldn’t say that or else I will manifest a bear during my next trail run. No bears. No bears. No bears. I’ll just keep telling myself that.
Overall I was very pleased with this morning’s run. There were a lot of people who came out, and I was able to get a small glimpse of things to come in a few weeks. I ran a total of 8.6 miles, but since I turned around just about the 4 mile mark, there are still about 12 more miles I’ve yet to see. One thing I couldn’t wait to see was a Peet’s Coffee shop so I could get my delicious post-run coffee! Ahhh!!! 🙂
Peet’s, is that you?
