My first Hockley Loop of the year! It's also the first time I've run the full re-routed Loop since the south side main trail was moved onto the old side trail, making the route a little longer and hillier between 3rd and 4th Line. So this is my current Loop PB - and I hope it will stand as my Personal Worst for awhile too!
'Bent and Mrs. Gally were running as well. In order to even things out, I took a head start before Mrs. Gally arrived. It was chilly, rainy and windy when I headed out - good UTMB practice. Most of the main trail in Hockley Provincial Park was packed pretty well but there was some postholing at the north end approaching Dunby Road. The forest on the east side, including the b*tches, was mostly soft-packed snow with stretches of treacherous ice on a couple of ridges. I was glad to have spikes and trekking poles but even so, I was hanging on to trees for safety a few times.
I heard 'Bent and Mrs. Gally chatting in the northeast forest but we didn't meet up until Hockley Road. They'd taken a side trail at the start to avoid the first section of hills - cheaters! ;) Unfortunately, Mrs. Gally had to head back so we had a quick hug and said goodbye; she is looking *so* fit!
'Bent joined me and we finished the Loop. Conditions got worse as we went on - a combination of rising temperature and trails that see less use. There were a number of surprise post hole moments, sometimes above our knees! The last section behind Hockley Resort was a slog with occasional token attempts at running.
I lacked energy and had fatigued legs today - probably not surprising after leg strength work in last night's yoga class. Also, it was hard to feel a spring in my step in the soft snow. But the good news is that my foot feels great.
Over the next while, running at Hockley should remain good in the provincial park because of all the hikers packing the trail down, and the Loop should be fine on cold days, with spikes and poles recommended. When it warms up, all that deep snow will turn to soft mashed potato snow - perfect for a strength workout, not so much for running.
[Note: Small adjustments due to some GPS weirdness and my forgetting to turn it off/on right away a couple of times.]