Back on the Trail

I'll post a blog about a great Sunday spent picking blueberries later as I have pictures, but they're on my other computer. Check out the picture to the left to get a feel.

Today however, dawned with me getting back on my local trails. I'm afraid that within a month my morning trail runs are either going to be first shortened significantly than go away altogether. It's definitely darker at 4:45 than it was a month ago. Now when I hit the first trail on the way to Winnekenni park it's getting tough to see in the woods whereas before it would be pretty bright at that time. By the time I'm in the woods of Winnekenni it's brighter, but every day is getting shorter and while on one hand I'm super pumped because I can't wait for a good New England autumn...I'm also bummed because it means that it's getting closer to the time I'm doing more road running than trail running. Ah, so it goes.

This morning it felt great to be back on the trail. I'm battling some pain in my left shin (I'm going to blame my two road runs at the beach last week rather than the more obvious slack off in training), but once I warmed up I felt great. Tomorrow will be a better gauge of how this will play out. I think I'll be good to go though. This weekend I'm planning on doing the 4.5 mile loop twice in order to up my miles a bit as I prepare for the 10 miler at the end of the month. I'm going to plant a water bottle by my car so I can refresh at the halfway point. Looking forward to stretching it out a bit and start doing some longer runs. Next weekend the intent is to do three laps.

Which brings me to something that has me nervous...no more GoLite footwear. Having worked for both sides of the GoLite brand (footwear and apparel/gear) I've been in constant supply of my favorite trail running shoes for over a year now. Say what you will (and many have) about the shoes, but I'm convinced that the technology in the outsoles take a lot of stress off of your body...and I'm on my last pair. I actually have a pair of the first season Sun Dragon's left, but the fit in those are subpar to the newer Versa Force that I'm currently running in. Thankfully the shoes appear that they will live on with a new home away from Timberland...but they won't be available for some time which means...I'm going to have to buy new shoes.

First of all, I haven't had to buy new shoes for a long time. One of the perks of my previous life, but that's not the problem. I'm going to have to be super picky about the brand that replaces GoLite for my feet. Based on prior experience I'm going to give the initial edge to Saucony, because I always liked their road shoes. But I'm going to shop long and hard and take a long time to make this decision.

Moving along...aside from the darkness in the morning, the weather today (and yesterday for that matter) was just stellar. The air is drying out and the temps were very nice. Getting to the point where I want to wear a shirt while running. As I mentioned I am very much looking forward to fall. Last year in CO, cold weather was pretty short lived. We had a few cool days in the fall, than some coldish weather around Christmas and after New Year's I really can't remember too many cold days. Many people would love this, and I have to admit it was nice to run in February in shorts and to bike on dirt trails in March was sweet, but I missed the harshness of winter a lot. Fall in New England is amazing and I'm really hoping for a good typical fall with foliage and snow in the high peaks followed by a cold snowy winter. All this means is that it will be warm and mild throughout and it will have been three years since a real winter for me, but oh well. The anticipation is great, and see the blueberries arrive means that the apples and pumpkins aren't far behind.

(Note: I tried to post a bunch of pictures that would relate to the content in this post, but for some reason I kept getting an error from Blogspot. Must be something going on with the site, so I'll add them in later.)