Monday: Still exhausted. I actually took a nap today, which usually only happens when I’m dealing with a flu.
I caught a third wind around 9 PM, so I decided to grab a short run as soon as it was feasible. While out on the run, I realized that a large part of the reason why my right knee has been hurting on these runs is because of the crown of the road; I played around with various parts of the road surface and confirmed it.
Tuesday: The AdiRUNdack Trail Series - Race #5.
I realized today that my problems with fatigue were fairly simple to explain. Last week I had started to shift away from junk food, and from added sugars and white flours in general. I failed to account for how many calories I was actually getting from those foods, and ended up with a huge calorie deficit.
Thursday: Tonight’s run was interesting: strong winds and lots of pollen in the air. I could see it rushing past when I looked up, and it got in to my eyes several times.
Saturday: Decided to go for a run at Moreau. I chose to scope out the trails from the southern end, and I was rewarded with another hidden parking lot, tucked just inside the woods off of Spier Falls Road. The Western Ridge Trail starts at a gate right after the parking lot. The trail follows an access road for roughly half a mile, before crossing some power lines and ducking back in to the woods on a woods road. Another quarter mile brought me to the first junction, and I headed left, hoping to get at least a view in before I called it a day.
The view was fantastic, and I stood for a while, taking it in. Afterward, I continued along the Western Ridge Trail, then headed right on the White Birch trail. The White Birch appears to be a fairly new trail, well planned and pleasant to run on. It’s still mostly loam, and the pitch was never too aggressive. Finally, I hooked up with the Eastern Ridge Trail, at a large trail junction. I contemplated extending the run a bit more, to Lake Ann, or along the Eastern Ridge, but the mosquitoes were starting to land despite the bug spray, so I opted to head back home.
The White Birch Trail traverses a deep, dark valley, and as I crossed over the creek at the base of that valley, I started to get the feeling that I was being watched. I looked around as much as I could while still running, but I couldn’t see anything. As I stated back up the valley on the other side, I started hearing something swishing through the leaves. It sounded bigger than the typical wildlife you find around here, but, still, I couldn’t see anything.
As I started down the Eastern Ridge Trail, I started getting that sensation again, off to my right, in the same general area where I had felt it before. Sure enough, I started hearing the leaves swish again, too. This time, however, I was able to pick out two people making their way down the slope toward the trail/road I was running on. We exchanged hellos, and I joked about how I was wondering what was moving through the woods. The man in front made a joke about a bear, and I said, “well, I knew it was bigger than a squirrel!” and then took my leave.
The rest of the run was uneventful, and it felt amazing to push the pace on the downhill. I’m grateful to have these trails so close to home, and I look forward to exploring them more in the near future.
Until next time, be excellent to each other!
This was originally posted on my Ghost blog.