May 4 - 20 Mile Trail Run - "That's What Soap & Water Is For"

AM Workout:
KEY WORKOUT: 20 Mile Trail Run
Time: 3 hours 31 minutes
Course: Greenbelt White Trail
Weather: 75F, Partly Cloudy

I went for 10 miles today, felt good, did 20.

This was also an eventful little run, as the White Trail on the Southern end of Staten Island was littered with deadfall, mud pits, hungry tigers, and poisonous snakes. Well, OK, there were no tigers and snakes, but the obstacles were aplenty.

After the first mile I dart onto the White Trail in Willowbrook Park, with nice white socks, nice red shorts, nice white singlet, and a smile on my face. By the time I emerged out onto Great Kills Park at the southern end (10 miles into the run), I had wet brown shoes, heavy brown socks, brown shorts, brown singlet, scratches all over my legs, and an even bigger smile on my face. What happened in between was a large section of continuous deadfall that I had to crawl under, jump over, and squeeze past in order to continue on the trail. The section actually reminded me of the Barkley Marathons, in which the course is so tough that there are normally no finishers of the 100 mile race. Of course, I could have ventured out onto the road and skip all that deadfall, but why would I want to do that? That would ruin the total trail running experience! Plus, it gives the trail some rugged character. I'm sure the trail's volunteers will eventually come in with chainsaws and clear it away, but in the meantime, it's time to have fun with it.

Some key instances on the way back to the finish. At the Crookes Point turnaround, a man with a dog noticed my muddy attire and asked, "been to the Greenbelt, have you?". I looked at the mud on my singlet, then looked at the guy and joked, "why yeah, how'd you notice?" He stated that he was there yesterday and noted the mud and deadfall that littered the path.

A second instance came at the Amudsen Circle (where the trail crosses Amboy Road at Clarke Ave). I was waiting for the light to change so that I crossed the street. A woman who was waiting for the bus looked at me and muttered, "ew". I turned to the woman, shrugged, and said, "That's what soap and water is for", smiled, then resumed my running. Apparently, the woman hasn't obviously gotten dirty before and liked it. Oh well, she doesn't know what she's missing.

I finished the run strong. My muscles still feel loose, and I feel like I'm ready to run again tomorrow. It's great being in this kind of shape; I feel I can do anything now, including finishing 100 miles in July.

(Key Workout 2 of 4 done this week)