Mary and Ruby
I ran the trails and tote roads around the East Branch Trail today with my two favorite running buddies, Mary and Ruby. The weather was sunny and cold, hovering right around freezing for most of the run. We all felt good today and enjoyed each other's company and conversation (although, Ruby doesn't actually say much).
Mary and Ruby had a black bear bluff charge at them in this same area last week, but neither of them seemed overly concerned today. I, on the other hand, was jumping every time a branch broke or a squirrel shuffled through the dry leaves at the side of the trail. I have seen black bears in the woods dozens of times and never have felt threatened or afraid. But I recently read a book titled, Bear Attacks, Their Cause and Prevention. This graphic scientific look at bear attacks rattled me a bit. So I am happy to report that I have no bear sightings to report today.
The route we ran involves a steady gradual uphill for the first 6 miles. I do better with steep and short! Today I heard myself whine at one point, "this is too much climbing, you should start coming to my house for our long runs." The next 6 miles is a steady gradual downhill. This changed my tune a little, "what a great area to run in! Isn't this beautiful!" My Garmen shows 4400 feet of elevation gain and loss for that first 12 miles.
Twelve miles brought us back to where we had left the car. Mary drove home with Ruby while I ran the three miles back to Mary's house to make it 15 miles. Mary and I were both happy with how well we handled today's challenging run. It feels good to be getting back into good running shape!
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