The plan is to get 12 miles on some logging roads since the trails are covered in deep snow. Hopefully some snowmobiles have been through or I'll be confined to tire tracks.  Taking Yaktraxs along just in case.

After yesterday QOTD, I saw this very funny article about negative reviews of natural wonders on TripAdvisor. Pretty funny, and seems to confirm what was said yesterday about reviews. I particularly like the one about Stonehenge where reviewer give it 1 star and says looks a bit dated.

QOTD:  Throwback because what was your memory of your first trail run, and what made you decide to run on a trail (because everyone knows trails will hurt you and are bad for you ankles, knees, etc. )?

A friends asked me and my marathon running partner if we wanted to do an adventure race as part of his team.  After explaining it, we decided to give it a try.  I had done a lot of Mountain biking, but never ran on a trail before. We all met up at a trail before the race to do a run on a section of the AT.  I was giddy from the start, jumping over roots and rocks and climbing over some big bouldering sections.  From that point on I was hooked.

Gym Day. I'll probably do some running on the TM after lifting. The roads here are pretty slippery, I don't have time to try the mountain out and the wind is pretty brisk. Hoping to get in about 4 miles.  Need to do some cross training which will be snow shoveling. The 25-30+ MPH winds gave me some drifts.

Finished replacing a thermostat in my BMW yesterday. Upgraded the hoses as well. I knew there was a coolant leak and I thought I had found and fixed it. Didn't think it was the radiator. Took it for a nice test run and now have really good heat again. Got back and pulled it into the garage to check things out and it was steaming from the top and side of the radiator.  Found a nice little pinhole that developed in the plastic end cap of the radiator . Not sure if that was my original leak or just the plastic failing from the pushing and pulling of installing hoses and other parts. But it does leave me with one big question. Why the @#$*!!!! does BMW use so much cheap plastic on their cars ?

QOTD: Started trail running after reading about Hyner. First trail run was on a trail in a natural area that we used to hike when I was a kid.  Now it's climb over fallen trees and watch out for falling branches. Used to be a busy place but almost no one is there anymore.  It's a no logging area and the forest is past maturity and is now just old and falling down. That got me looking for somewhere else to run.

That somewhere else was the Dam half course. So with little running mileage on my legs I set out for a half marathon course. I knew what some of the trails were from mountain biking on them. I did it the day after a hurricane rolled through the area back in '11. Rocks, roots, mud and cold water up to my knees.  What was there not to like?  Used a pair of sneakers that I had got from Boscov's in the 90s. Yea they looked and felt sturdy but they only lasted for one run and they were destroyed. Went and bought some Cascadias. They served me well.

The plan is to take the Lady out to Green Lane after work for 5-7 miles, depending on snow conditions. Really should not be too bad as we just had 8" or so of snow/sleet, though hopefully some folks will be out there today crunching me down a path.

QOTD: First trail run was at Nolde Forest (Reading PA) in the winter/spring of 2003 while training for my first marathon. I trained with a group from my health club and our long run organizer often had some trail/soft surface sections in our weekend run. We did a few mid-distance long runs out there.. hilly place but easy surfaces for the most part. We did our "last taper madness/week before marathon long" run at Nolde that year. Memorable thing happened there... my first crash on the trail, a week out from the race. Slipped on a wooden footbridge over watershed creek and took a hard fall, nearly spilling myself into the creek with several witnesses. Thought I'd blown my race as it hurt (oh poor road running baby!) but learned quickly if you resume running generally the aches go away. So first fall was at Nolde too... now I am professional in that regard.

Got in 3+ last night at the gym.  Wind was blowing something fierce.  To think just a couple weeks ago it was 65-75 degrees and now...

QOTD: This is a trail running forum? I must be in the wrong place.

I could answer this a few different ways so I will work backwards.

-In 2010 I was stuck on half marathons.  I trained specifically for them and did well in improving my time.  I decided to throw in a "10 mile" trail race at the end of the season (September I think) thinking it would be the equivalent to a HM.  Boy was I wrong.  I had trained a little on trails but this was my first real trail race.  It was the Conestoga 10 miler - a gnarly, rugged, crazy 10 miles of rocks, hills, more rocks, and more hills.  I could not have been more sore than I was after this.  But I was hooked.  I went on to Hyner, Rothrock, and then ultras.

-In 2008, I was training for my first marathon (road).  I was very early in the process and needed to see if I could tolerate a long run - which was only 9 miles for me at the time.  I decided to hit the local trail I had "discovered" a few years before and was hiking a lot and exploring.during a layoff from work (summer of 2006 I believe).  The trail? The Appalachian.  I had lived in the area 6 years and did not realize it came right through.  So when I needed to get in a 9 miler, I hit the easy portion of the AT.  The 9 miles ticked by like it was nothing.  I couldn't believe how it felt like it was only 20 minutes of running.  It set me up to do a lot more of it but not until I discovered that I sucked at road running.

-Prior to this, I ran XC in high school and our school's course was trail.  It was not technical but beautiful double track in the woods right by a reservoir in MA.  I absolutely loved it. Just imagine running in the woods by a highly protected reservoir in autumn in New Engalnd.  Post care material - everyday.  I hated the fact that we were supposed to run as hard and fast as we could but I loved the feeling of being free on the trails.

-And prior to this, I grew in MA surrounded mostly by woods.  We had trails through the woods where, as kids, we built forts and explored.  While I never formally ran the trails, I did plenty of running.  This is where my love for the woods and trails really came from.

And now I barely make it out on the trails anymore...

Have a great day!

12 miles + or -, on logging road and then hit a section of trail that a snowmobile had pushed down.  Made me feel like warden out there all alone in the snow.  Yaktraxs works well and I really needed them on some icy sections of the logging roads.

Logging road section.

Only 1 snowmobile track, but thankfully it was enough to get in a few trail miles.

Jamie - I'm always amazed when I tell people I run on the AT and they have no idea sections of it are within a few miles from Gettysburg.

XT - I've fallen at Nolde Forrest too. Think it was the Coffee Pot trail because we joked about the name.

 

that's good to hear 

Mostly from landowners. Hahaha. Just kidding.

Mostly trying to get set up on a turkey between the first gobble and the time he flew down from the roost.

6.1 miles

qotd: As well as I can recall my first trail running was on parts of the UConn XC course back in 1969. About the same time I also started running on a lot of the trails that now make up the Nipmuck Trail Marathon.