Trail times

It was a great weekend for hitting trails! It started out Friday morning doing a little single track mountain biking in Jefferson City at Binder Park. They were very nice trails (with very little exception) compared to some of the rocky stuff we usually ride. Nothing too technical - nothing I couldn't ride (even though I had some moments of fear). It was a slow, but fun ride once I got into it. We only rode the blue and green trails - took us around an 1-1/2 hours.

I was planning to do a 12 mile run on the Katy Trail while in Columbia on Saturday, but there was just too much going on (or really, I was trying to fit too much in!). So, I skipped it and just did it Sunday. I finally hit the road around 10:30am - decked out in Adventure Race gear - pack and trail shoes. I had 2.25 miles of road before I was able to hit the Ruby Jack Trail head. Then, 7.5 miles out and back on it and followed it up with the 2.25 miles home on roads. It was a really nice day out - although it was still really humid and I was drenched by the time I was done. The animals again helped me get through it - I saw a deer first - just standing right in the middle of the trail:

Of course by the time I stopped, got my camera out of the pack it was gone and all I got was the trail! ;-) Oh well, next time. Then, there were 3 or 4 turtles:

This little guy didn't move nearly as fast as the deer! I also saw multiple bunnies (nope, didn't even attempt to get the camera out for those fast little buggers). At one point I felt to be the queen of the dragonflies with them all circling around my ankles as I ran past. All in all it was a great run - very peaceful. In the 1+ hour I spent on the trail I only saw 5 other people out - which is a shame, but also nice for me. I'm torn, the more people that use it the more the trail condition will improve (because of increased awareness and funding), but also the busier it will be and possibly cause the trails to not be quite as peaceful or so heavily populated by wildlife?? Hmmm, which is better??

I was disappointed to see that some people - I assume from the housing on either side of the trail - had decided to use the trail as a place to launch fireworks - not a bad idea in itself - but leaving the trash from it is. I hope that they just had not made it back to clean it up. I'm heading back out there tonight on a group bike ride and I'll be taking my trash sack just in case.

After the run, I showered up and we took the dogs to do a picnic lunch by the lake. They loved it - there are so many smells there that they can be entertained for hours!! Then, a quick trip to the nursing home to visit the Grandpa then back to the single track trails in Joplin.

We made it to the trails around 5:45pm and were able to ride around an hour. It was a good ride for me - I didn't fall! ;-) Also was able to ride a little faster - not bad considering I had 12 miles on my legs for the day. My confidence was up a bit after the ride - I'm ready to go again soon - so, I think we're putting it on the calendar for tomorrow. With an Adventure Race coming up the more trail miles the better.

Today is just going to be a chill group ride (us on the tandem) on Ruby Jack Trail. Pretty excited about that. Then, I'm planning to get up tomorrow morning for a 6 mile tempo run - I hope I can hit the mark! Tomorrow evening we'll hit single track with mountain bikes. Wednesday morning will be speed work at the track. Thursday will be a 4 mile easy run, then a 24+ mile ride that night. Friday will be weights and Saturday will be the Tornado Alley - still not sure if I'll do 50 or 77 miles - we'll see how the legs are feeling!! :-)

Ride/Run on!