TrailHonky

Surface: Dirt
Mileage: 11
Shoes: Montrail Hardrock

In my quest to continue exploring the trail options in the DFW area, I headed over to Rowlett to get in a run on Thanksgiving weekend. I planned to meet Deborah but there ended up being four of us at the start. Rick was still half-injured from the Ultracentric and the other guy Patrick cut out after about an hour since he was preparing dinner for guests later that evening. Deborah and I finished out with another hour of running, bringing our mileage to right around 11.

The trails were pretty easy to follow and we didn’t get lost. There isn’t much terrain but the trails were in great condition and the bike traffic was bearable. Most of them were really friendly and we didn’t have any frustrated bikers trying to race :-) Covering the soft dirt trail for much of the way were yellow leaves that had recently fallen off the trees. Except for the portion of the trails that run along the power line easement, there is a lot of tree cover.

The morning started just about right but by the end of the run, we were both declaring that it had warmed up quite a bit. I was sucking down my Succeed and trying to ration myself so I wouldn’t have far to run at the end without any hydration. I’m getting pretty good at figuring out how much I need (at least in the temperature range I’ve trained in recently). One of my 20 oz. amphipod hand bottles lasts me about 9 miles. I’m still really liking the Succeed Ultra drink that I mix for my training and races.

Right now, my training goal is the Bandera 50K in January. I’d like to consider the Rocky Raccoon 50M in February to set me up for a possible 100K later this year.

I had originally posted this to my blog, but I lost it in a migration from Typo to Wordpress. I’m not sure what I wrote, but this was a 9 mile run starting at 5:30am before volunteering at the Murrell Park aid station for the Rockledge Rumble 15K/30K/50K. I mainly worked on keeping track of split times and got to meet several club members (Glenn, Nancy, Fred and Char, and Linda). I stayed for the entire race (had a really great time!) and then hauled the trash back to Jackson Pavilion.

Surface: Concrete
Mileage: 9
Duration: 01:29:37
Pace: 09:57/m
Shoes: Montrail Hardrock

The low temperatures lately have made the weather downright crispy. With yesterday’s mostly clear skies and sun, I figured an afternoon run would be enjoyable. I didn’t want to travel and battle the traffic, though, so I stuck close to home.

I took my headphones so that the monotony of the stride and cadence would not bore me. Plus, during the week in the early afternoon, the trail is not crowded. I started out slowly to conserve my energy in case I wanted to extend the distance, but I soon remembered why road training hurts for any significant distance. My legs were already tightening up after only 6 miles. After just over 8 miles, I decided to stop at 9. I was still making a pretty good pace and had no pain, but I was ready to be done and warm up inside.

A day after the run, my legs are about as tight as the day after the Palo Duro 50K but I went less than a third of the distance. Now I realize how after a road marathon I am a total gimp the next day at work but after a trail ultra, I can make it quite easily. But I think having some road training every once in a while is good. It helps with consistent pacing and form if you can stand more boring scenery :-)

Surface: Dirt
Mileage: 2.66
Duration: 00:31:40
Pace: 11:54/m
Shoes: Montrail Hardrock

I’ve been meaning to take advantage of the Texas Gold Conservation Passport I bought a few weeks back so this week I headed down to Cedar Hill State Park south of Dallas. DORBA has a maintained trail out there and I was curious to see what it was like.

The trailhead is on the far side of the park near the lake and was easy to find from both the park map and DORBA’s website instructions. There is a nice sign there explaining the three loops. I started out to the left, following the bike trail. Hikers are pointed to the right to complete loops in the opposite direction.

The trail is nice smooth single track with a lot of switchbacks to get up the hills. As expected for a bike course, it is overly windy for a runner, but still a nice workout from the ups and downs. It is not as well marked as L.B. Houston, but it was still easy to find my way without getting lost. There are only a couple of decision points and to complete the smallest (green) loops, I just kept taking a right.

Just after the green loop cuts through the woods to pick back up on the trail, you ascend a bit and come into an opening with a fantastic view of Joe Pool Lake. There was a crisp breeze in the air that was blowing the tall prairie grasses making the run pretty enjoyable.

If this were a less windy course, I’d probably go back more often, but will probably use this more as a way to change things up and get some decent ups and downs into my workouts. I will probably check out Cedar Ridge Preserve soon to have something nearby to compare it with.