Trails

Huntsville State Park was closed from the day before Hurricane Ike made landfall until yesterday at 12:00pm. I made it out to the park at 2pm to run a seven mile loop and take pictures of what I encountered. I didn’t know what to expect but what I found wasn’t pretty.

The park has an enormous amount of trees that are either uprooted, snapped in half, or damaged so badly they probably won’t live through the winter. The trails have been cleaned of most larger trees and limbs but there is debris covering all the trees. You have to run over branches, pine cones, needles, and more leaves than I’ve seen. But at least it’s runnable. I’m not so certain I could ride my mountain bike through it.

Here are pictures that I took (click for larger images):

Hurricane Ike certainly did it’s damage where I live for trail runners. I went by the State Park and read the sign saying that it would be two to three weeks before they open. This was after listening to a message on the phone saying they were closed indefinitely. The sign also said they would either fine or arrest people entering the park while it’s closed. Then the nearby National Forest had signs saying it is closed until December 11, 2008. Crazy! They will fine up to $5,000. Double crazy!

With that I decided that I would run seven miles on the road. I went to a popular running road that you can go straight out and back on while getting a good distance in. I did my seven miles and went home disappointed.

I went out this evening after work and ran 7 miles on the trails. It felt alright but there was certainly some lingering pain in the IT Band area. I’ve started to incorporate some different stretches before and after runs along with more cross training. I’m hoping that all of this creates a situation where my body can correct itself. It sure felt good to be out in nature again for a little over an hour.

There comes a time when most runners get bored of the same old running routes. For me that has been neighborhood paths that get old, high school tracks that look the same, and even trails that start to blend together.

What do we do to correct that? I don’t know, but I know that I go out on new paths. People in my running club often run the same 5 mile loop or one of two 7 mile loops. All three of these have gotten a little boring after running them hundreds of times.

Today I went out to run at the park and found that the park was closed. Thunderstorms and strong winds ravaged through the area tearing down trees and with them powerlines at the park. I went instead to the Lone Star Trail which goes through the Sam Houston National Forest.

There is a path about two miles long that goes into the park, so I ran that. It has been about 3 months since I last ran it and the grass, weeds, and trees have overgrown the path. My legs were suffering as I drudged through it. Finally I made it to the park where I took a couple short trails back to the highway. I saw some of the downed trees but no downed powerlines. I finished up about six miles overall. I saw that John and Lavonne were out at the National Forest and hope they chose the trail that I did not because it might have been a little more manicured.

This week has been a pretty busy one on the trails for me. I have to get ready for the Hogs Hunt at the beginning of next month, and I’m too out of shape right now. I went out for a seven mile run on Monday. Then I followed that up with a run through the trails on a new route involving a new trail on Tuesday. My guess was that I’d be going about 7 miles, but I think it ended up being just under nine. I can only guess because it was based on the amount of time it took and some rough mileage calculations from the trails I know the distance of. Yesterday I ran another seven mile loop as I tried, unsucessfully, to catch up with friends who started 20 minutes ahead of me. Finally, I took it easy and ran five miles today. I’ll probably try to run 21 on Saturday.

When I ran five miles on Saturday it was bright and sunny in Huntsville. The temperature on Saturday got into the 60s and that was supposed to be the same on Sunday.

However, the trails were still very soggy from all the previous days with rain. This means that those of you who hate running on soggy trails might have some issues on Saturday. I think that if it doesn’t rain between now and then, the trails will dry up. It’s supposed to rain tomorrow which will keep the trails wet.

The other news is that it looks like it’s going to be anywhere from 65-70 degrees for a high temperature. That means that this will be a fairly hot 100 miler. Be prepared to carry and have plenty of fluids during the heat of the day. Luckily, the trails are covered almost the entire course.

“There is a port-a-cactus just up the trail” — Paul Stone

Bandera kicked my butt, no doubt. I’m thinking it’s slightly due to all the fantastic peppermint ice cream I’ve been eating this past month, yet it’s almost all due to the killer hills and rough terrain.

I left my house to pick up Debbie for a night in San Antonio. We ended up in SA, TX at about 8pm, had dinner (Mi Tierra), and went to our hotel to sleep. We got up at 4:30 and and left SA for Bandera about 5am. It was dark outside so I didn’t know what the terrain was around me after we were west of SA. I’m glad I didn’t know.

I picked up my packet, used the restroom, and found my way to where the 50K and 25K were starting. Bandera does a good job of having each of the three races start at different points. the 25K had the joy of starting the race with the Lucky hill and ending it with Lucky. The 50K also started with a killer hill but at least it wasn’t Lucky. Meanwhile, the 100K started a little different direction and joined up with the 50K shortly after the start of the race. The race started promptly at 7:30 with a light fog and the sun rising.

The first section of the 50K was probably the most difficult. The initial hill is something unlike any hill I have had the pleasure of running. I walked most of the uphill and tried to run the downhills. Even that was dangerous as it was steep with lots of big and small loose rocks. Even hiking this would give you a major workout.

I ran for awhile with a guy who told me that he had ran quite a few Bandera races and let me know I was in for a day of fun. About a half mile before Nachos, I saw him again as he was hobbling to the aid station with a broken foot. He didn’t want any assistance from runners though. I also ran with and talked to [--updated with name -- John Sharp] who trained out there. He let me know that once I made it to Nachos, I was in the clear. That was about 10 miles into the run, so I had some good news as I passed over those very difficult sections.

Bandera was very well marked. I had thought about carrying a map because I wasn’t sure how it would be. There was a lot of crossing over different trails and changing up the direction. However, the marking was great. They only marked the intersections instead of the entire trail. I think this worked well as you knew once you were going the right way nothing would change.

After Nachos, I was out there with just a few groups of people for much of the race. I did a lot more walking than normal because I wasn’t properly trained for the race. It didn’t help that it was a little over 70 degrees without any clouds. I didn’t get enough sodium, so I was bloated and dehydrated pretty soon into the race. I wasn’t ever able to shake that.

After the Chupas aid station it was onto an area that was more open pasture. I got some delicious Clif Bloks from a guy named Phillip who was out there for fun and to run with his friend through the Nachos section of the race. I also ran with a couple other people for a little while.

Once I made it to the Crossroads aid station, a guy from the Hill Country Trail Runners let me know that I wasn’t taking enough enduralytes with the current temperature. I was taking one an hour and he said I needed at least two, so I grabbed a couple and took them with a bottle of Heed and headed out. This section that went out around the two sisters and came back in was one of the worst for me. I wanted to be done and I was tired of climbing these hills. My calves were completely thrashed, so I had a difficult time climbing.

Once I made it back to the Crossroads a volunteer who had finished the 25K let me know what I was in for with the Lucky section. He said about 2.2 miles was covered and flat with good trail and then 2 miles of lucky was left where it would be brutal. Taking that advice, I ran the 2.2 miles almost the entire way. Then when I got to lucky, I climbed it as quick as I could and descended it slowly so as to not hurt myself.

Once I made it to the Last Chance aid station, I got some gatorade and water and ran the last .5 mile to finish in about 7 hours and 27 minutes.

All and all, this was the most difficult race I have run. I look forward to running the course again as it was a lot of fun. I loved the nature surrounding me even if the hills were pretty rough. Next year I will come more prepared!

When I pass hikers on the trails, I enjoy their little comments that they make. Typically it is enjoyable because while they are making the hike seem like they are climbing Everest, I am just bounding over any of the minor obstacle at 10 times their speed.

It makes me happiest when they have kids. One day a kid yelled out to his father, “Daddy look at that boy!” Today a father yelled out to his child, “Holy moly look at that guy go!”

It makes me happy because I envision that kid remembering all the fun he or she had on their camping trip with the family. Maybe somewhere in that memory, it will include his father being impressed with someone running on the trails. Maybe that might be enough to turn someone into the joys of trail running.

Maybe, just maybe.

In an effort to rest for the race, I decided that it would be a good idea to ride the trail I normally run. Today was a really nice day for mountain biking. I went out to the trail and found one of my running buddies. He was just getting in from the run and let me know there was one other biker out there.

Off I went to see if I could find the other biker. It’s weird to experience the trail from a different vantage point. There were sections of the trail that were much quicker on the bike, but I found areas that were far easier on foot.

I’m excited about the run on Saturday. I’m going to camp out at Tyler State Park tomorrow night. Then I’ll be ready for the run on Saturday morning.

Today I hit the trails again and found some that were actually dry! I only went about three miles, because I didn’t bring along a flashlight. I didn’t think it would be wise to get stuck out on unknown trails without light.

About one mile into the run, I came upon a creek where they still had deer hunting stands set up. This is a state park that allows deer hunting at certain times of the year to control the populations. About two hundred feet in front of me where two beautiful deers! I was so happy to see some actual wildlife on a run. That’s not something you see much of in Dallas.

Then on the drive home, I saw about five does out by the side of the highway. They weren’t scared by the cars but weren’t coming into the roads.

I wish I had brought my camera.

I went out today with my friend for about 5 hours of mountain bike riding. We went about 9 miles but were slowed down with a flat tire (thanks for leaving broken bottles on the trails…).

We rode the Northshore trail at Lake Grapevine. This trail is a long out and back that accomodates hikers, bikers, and runners. I was able to see many of all three types. It was fun to see some of the runners out there and made me wish I could have run a little too.

More pictures of the trail are available if you click on the picture.

Today I went out on the White Rock trails by the hatchery with my brand new digital camera. I decided that it was time to get a camera so that I could take some photos. You’ll see more of the trails in my flickr account.

I was going to go on a bike ride with a friend, but she had to get a tune up for her bike. That was going to take a number of hours, which meant that we had to scrap the biking idea. Instead, I went over to the trails and ran a bit while stopping to take some photos.

I hope you had a great Saturday.

I made it home today, so I’m pretty excited.  I hate sitting in a car for hours on end because it makes me so stir crazy.  It seems that Dallas received a lot of rain which means the trails are closed, but I can go on a long run. It’s good to be home.

I’m still such a newbie at mountain biking that it’s usually a trainwreck when I ride. Today I went to a fairly technical trail in Dallas — Boulder Park — and hit the turf a few times.

My first fall was early on in the ride. When I arrived at the park, I noticed that the trail head had a sign saying that it was closed and their was no trespassing allowed. This didn’t surprise me because the DORBA website stated there were some issues but you could still ride it. I went off to another entrance and started my ride but I didn’t see anyone else there. Out on the trail, I heard a noise and decided to look, yes, while riding, for the other person. When I looked back in front of me, I was driving into tree. This threw me from my bike onto the trail.

The second fall happened while I was going downhill. I think that I hit my brakes which planted my front wheel. Of course, I ended up going over the top of the handlebars as my bike flipped over! Ouch!

The worst fall was the third one and it happened going up hill. There is a more difficult section of the trail where you go down a short embankment and then ascent through rocks. As soon as I ascended, I ended up planting my front wheel and flying off the bike into rocks. I bruised my hip, hurt my hand (a little), and cut up my leg. Oh, and I also dislodged my handlebars from their alignment with the wheel.

All in all an awesome ride!