| |
|
| | |
|
| Run/Jog | 27.10 Miles |
3,992 AEG |
| | Run/Jog | 27.10 Miles | 7 Hrs 29 Mns 7 Secs | | 3.62 mph |
| 3,992 ft AEG | | 5 LBS Pack | | |
|
|
| |
| Linked |
|
none
[ show ]
| no linked trail guides |
| Partners |
|
none
[ show ]
| no partners | | Since I have been getting back into trail running this year I have wanted to see how far I can push myself. Eagle Creek to Wahtum Lake was the obvious choice for a super long run. Having hiked the whole loop last summer, I knew there was ample water and that a majority of the trail was runnable.
I set out from Eagle Creek at 1030. There was plenty of parking at the main trailhead and not many people on the trail. The sun was shining and it was in the low 60s. My legs were already a little sore from Sundays race and doing squats earlier in the week, but I knew if I just kept a gradual pace they would eventually warm up.
This was to be my first trip using the Sawyer Squeeze to filter water. I carried a 16oz water bottle in the front of my running vest to drink from. My plan was to stop every half hour or so- quickly drink from the Sawyer, then pour the remained of the filtered water into my bottle and run on to the next water source. This way I would never have to carry more than 16oz and I would get plenty of short breaks.
The plan was fool proof, or so I thought, all the way up until mile 2 when disaster struck. While drinking on a remarkably smooth stretch of trail next to punch bowl falls I lost my grip on the water bottle cap and sent it flying. It landed on the trail several feet ahead of me, rolled 5 feet, then made an abrupt 90 degree turn and launched itself off the trail. Instead of landing somewhere that I could easily retrieve it, the cap fell through dead-fall and landed on the edge of a rodents burrow. As I reached through the mass of tangled tree branches to try and retrieve it, the cap slid further into the burrow and out of sight. I spent several minutes, elbow deep in the dirt trying to retrieve it, but to no avail.
At this point I really didn't know what to do. I could run back to the parking lot- but I knew I didn't have any similar bottles in my truck. The only bottles I had were liter bottles that wouldn't fit in my front vest pocket. And the sawyer squeeze is too oddly shaped to fit in the front pocket of the vest either. Not wanting to turn back 2 miles into a planned ultra run, I decided to forge ahead, just carrying the bottle in my hand with no cap.
I like having my hands free when I run. Maybe its the impending feeling that I am always about to fall, or that it impedes my occasional dance moves as I sing along to Lady Gaga, but I can't stand carrying a water bottle. I worked out a compromise with myself where I would carry the water bottle for a couple of miles, then once the liquid was only about 2 or 3 inches from the bottom, I could leave it in the vest pocket as long as I ran carefully and didn't bounce too much. This worked for a couple of hours until I gave up on the bottle entirely. I decided to just act like a camel and drink as much water from the sawyer squeeze every time I stopped. This definitely wasn't ideal- every time I left a water source my stomach was so full and I felt like vomiting, and I tend to run too long between water sources that by the time I stopped at the next one my tongue was dry and I felt sick... but I made it work.
Beyond the water bottle issue, the rest of the run went great. I was able to find a good rhythm and felt like I kept a pretty good pace given the distance, elevation, and nature of the trail. Recently the longest I have run was only 12 miles up to Tunnel Falls and back. And the longest I have ever ran was 18 along the Bear-Sabino Loop and that was almost 4 years ago now! Both distances that I completely destroyed today!!!
I wore compression sleeves on my legs for the first time on this run. I have no idea if they actually helped or not. But I sure felt super cool sporting them on the trail, and they definitely helped protect my legs when I fell coming down the hill from Wahtum Lake.
This was my also my first time using the Sawyer Squeeze and the Fastpack 20. Both worked beautifully. I love that I can stop and drink filtered water from the creek and be back on the trail in just a couple of minutes. So much easier than pumping the water! And the Fastpack 20 is great- it had more than enough room for everything that I was carrying, and all the pockets in the front make it super easy to grab anything that I needed.
GPS showed moving time as 6:35 and stopped for 54:25. |
| _____________________
| | |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Route Editor
Route Scout
