For the group run last night, we went to SM Park. The park was closed, so we parked at the entrance and ran into the woods from there. The windchill was minus 6 degrees, but in the woods the temperature was tolerable. I felt underdressed at the start, but after I got going, I warmed up a bit. My Patagonia Dragonfly Houdini is the perfect windbreak/outer layer.
At just 3.5 ounces, this baby rocks!
Eight Trail Nerds and one dog showed up. It was a blast running with our "screwed shoes." We cruised down trails and did a lot of bushwhacking, too. You never know what's under the powdered snow, so every now and then it was a stumble-fest. Woo-hoo!
We ended up playing hunter/tracker with the dog, because he took off for a while on his own. We split up and headed back to a rendezvous point, and he finally heard our calls and he sheepishly came back by finding two Trail Nerds to run back with. (He was put back onto his leash from that point on).
I ran for 70 minutes, but some of the others went back out for round-two. What a fun time!
11 comments:
Hi Ben,
I've read your blog for sometime now. I hope by late this coming spring I'll be in good enough shape to join your runs. They sound like fun. I run out there by myself sometimes.
So I have to ask. Don't the park rangers frown on you guys being out there after the park closes? I know I've been asked to leave the paved Mill Creek trail a few times after dark. It doesn't stop me though :)
-John S.
I love running in the snow. Sounds like a lot of fun.
John,
The Park Rangers are truck-based and stay to the paved roads in the Wintertime. They've never hassled us, (probably because they can't see us). I see walkers and x-country skiers out there at night, too.
I hope you can join us soon. We have all levels of ability on our runs. On Thursday night, I was the slow one, but I was the oldest by 18 years, also.
Happy trails,
Bad Ben
ohhhh...the snow and ice scare me. I'm still so afraid of falling...so I do the treadmill when it's really trecherous. Kudos to you for staying out there!!
So when are you going to come to Arizona and do the Grand Canyon, rim to rim to rim? (Yes the park rangers hate that, but people do it).
Hunuhpu,
I'd like to do that, someday. A 74-y.o. friend of mine just came back from doing a rim to rim to rim. He decided to do it in 3 days and stayed at the inn at the bottom.
Does it stop the rain too?
Olga,
The jacket works well in the rain, and has a hood.
Ben
You guys are hardcore with your screws in your shoes and all. I ran on Saturday in the Shawnee (HILLY) area and was cautious over the ice but that does not even come close to hardcore!
What a fun run indeed...we were like a bunch of little kids out there.
Yeah, acting like a little kid is the bomb. I hope I never lose that.
Stupid, reckless acts of freedom and fun.
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