Training Log Archive: guerfondler

Family ride falls/river/Greenway/lakes creek. Warm weather brought everyone outside.

We were taking it slow in the mess just north of Tin Fish when another rider vacillated whether to turn or not, and ended up cutting us off. Noah and I did a slomo tip over. Think of a tripod where two legs are six feet apart (bike wheels) and the third leg (my foot) is just 18 inches off. Then put a big load on the back, sitting high, and now leaning off center. I couldn't unclip and stop it fast enough enough. Noah was fine, but I took the load on my right shoulder. Mostly mad at myself, but also the other rider and the trail design.

After leaving my car at the Lismore Road lot, Corey, Laurel and I began our run at the finish line of the Wild Duluth course, just west of DECC. We wended through Canal Park and the Rose Gardens before heading up the bluff. Chester Creek is scenic, but highlight was Hartley Nature Center.

For extra miles we took the Hawk Ridge spur trail to Skyline Pkwy, which is shared with cyclists. I found new energy running the bumpy windy trail heading down-slope. Laurel's foot was hurting after this section (she raced 50 miles just three weeks ago) and she decided to short-course it.

Laurel didn't miss much fun in the sections further north. The SHT followed the snowmobile trail for long sections. Wet mud sucked the remaining energy from our legs. Then it occurred to us was hadn't seen any blue blazes in while. I had given Laurel my map, my dead phone was in my car, and my map memory was fuzzy. We agreed to run back south for ten minutes to see if we could find any trail marking. We found none, which meant either this section of trail was poorly marked (unlikely) or that we missed a fork yet further south where the SHT ducked into the woods. Not wanting to turn this into an ultra, we decided it best to continue north. Eventually the SHT rejoined the snowmobile trail to cross Lester River, then split again for the short jaunt to the lot.

I'm going to have to re-run the section between West Tischer Road and Lismore Road. Ugh. One of my least-favorite sections. Distance logged is from the book, plus another two miles for the double-check and deviation in routes. Time is from my watch -- certainly we had a lot pauses.

We picked up Laurel at a convenience store before getting Corey's car and heading for a burrito and a brew. We had good running weather -- mid 50s and overcast. And I appreciated the company on this continuing saga.

Ran from Fond du Lac spur trailhead to the Jay Cooke visitor center with Corey and Laurel. Sunny and about 70 degrees on shaded trail. The official guide book and maps still indicate the route circumvents the washout by paralleling the Munger trail for a ways. However, when I spoke with the SHTA office a couple days ago, I was told the old trail has been repaired and both routes are now flagged/valid. That wasn't entirely the case, and we found ourselves along the Munger trail for a ways, before being able to duck in to the single track further west.

Bulent accommodated my schedule, starting a little early and running just Isles before I had to get home.

Three lakes with Eric and Corey. Felt light on my feet today.