The National Trail Day yesterday didn't go as planned. I was going to run the 5-Hour Frenzy on the trails at Weldon Springs State Park, but it was canceled due to rain and lightning. A lot of the local area has had flooding too. That left me running on a treadmill at the gym...not a good way to celebrate trails day! Oh well. Today I ran the local trails at Lake of the Woods. It was fun jumping around and through the standing water and mud on the trail. One section has had 3-6 inches of standing water for a couple weeks! The heat, humidity, and sun took it's toll. Tonight I'm beat. I'm definitely not ready to do 7 days straight if the weather doesn't cool off and get drier. Dragging soaking shoes and socks around a trail isn't fun. It's hard work! Even with the best conditions, I'm not in any kind of shape to be doing 7 days on the trails. Whatever...no excuses...it's less than a week away. Sunday, June 15 at 5am starts the Buffalo Trace 7-Day Stage Race. Jeff (of the famous "Riddle Run") agreed to tend the trails a bit before the race--some extra mowing, maybe even some clipping of branches, and I heard a rumor that he and Gregg might try to drain the soggy corner of the trail by digging a drainage ditch.
I hope my fellow buffalo up at Kettle Moraine had a better weekend than me. That's a great area to run a race (Ice Age Trail in Wisconsin). I think they had a bit cooler weather and less rain. Although northern Illinois had serious storms and even a tornado around Chicago. Too bad the Chicago Fire game wasn't canceled...DC United pulled out a victory. Not a good weekend. Time to leave the blog and study for my Wilderness First Aid course...class begins tomorrow and we already have a reading assignment.
I feel like a poor steward running trails when its wet and muddy. However, I barely leave a print when I run with my Five Fingers foot gloves. Wading water and shedding mud makes it so much more enjoyable for me, especially when I seem to float up a hill. You still have to watch for thorns, though its a minor adjustment like wearning any other shoe. You should try it out some time.
ReplyDeleteMy friend has a pair of those. they look pretty cool. I wear lightweight trail racing flats (about 6 oz) for most of my runs. The Five Fingers sound even lighter and more natural.
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