Cause He Can't, He Won't and He Don't Stop.

It's getting easier. The main loop of of the trail was inundated by runners, training in the weeks before school I'm sure, stretching out those legs that had gone a little comatose over the summer break, but damn there sure where a lot of them. Lucky for me, as I turned off onto my usual route the gazelle count dropped considerably as they were all corralling themselves behind.

Ten miles down on paper, going into it I had my head held as high as my expectations, and I did not disappoint myself. Up until today I've been training with a 5 min run to 1 min walk switch off. The last five miles I changed it up and went for a 10 min run to 1 min walk switch. I was expecting to feel sluggish, tired, and as if the 10 min would drag. Running farther and longer actually made the run feel shorter. I'm going to see if I can switch to 10 to 1's on my training days and leave the 5 to 1's for my recoveries.

Tomorrow I start to include a little cross training with my recovery runs and off days. A little mountain biking will definitely add a little spice and fun to my weeks.

What would YOU do for a Kondike Bar?

First thought as I walked into my heavily air conditioned apartment from the trail, "Holycrapneedwater." Never mind that I'm officially back up to double digit mileage I just didn't feel like celebrating any mile stones at that moment. The heat wore me down the last 3 miles, multiply that with what started as a decent breeze early in the morning that become a constant hot wind, and that water was not my stomaches' friend and quickly vacated after every sip, and we have a good ol' time in the Texas sun, I tells ya! After a week or two I should be alright, it always takes my body a little extra time to recalibrate itself to the unrelenting heat.

After I took a shower and got some cold fluid in my system (as well as a Klondike Bar boo-ya!) I felt better and was able to actually see that, indeed, I had run 10 miles. My pace was good, water intake could be better, but over all it was a good run. My shoes will probably need changing out soon as I could feel every single rock today, and noticed it more as I began to wear down, so that's someting to add to my to-do list over the weekend.

I've never actually realized just how much grime I accumulate as I run. Before heading inside, I take my shoes and socks off at the front door and the majority of the time I see mud or dirt that's stuck to my legs, but today it looked as if I was sporting dark brown tights.

Moonlit Paths of Brushy Creek

Today I stepped back onto the trail following a week long sabbatical. The low mileage of the previous week aided in the feeling of euphoria straight out of the gate.

It was 5:30ish once I stepped outside. The moon was 3/4 full and helped give the dirt of the trail a faint glow against the black of the trees surrounding it. I kept my iPod off just to hear my breathing, footfalls, and the animals in the brush that I startled with all my constant noise. My flashlight mounted on my water bottle, cut through the dark and made every shadow larger and created a run that was eerie but exciting. As I got closer to the 183 cutoff of the trail head, the steady swath of cars of the busy highway swam on the night air and sounded more like a ghostly being. I ran hard, and loved every minute of it.

I explored the break off trails, the ones made of wood instead of dirt, but sadly they only lead to neighborhood entry points, nothing too exciting. Though, the views from the entry points were a nice change. The 183 cutting through the green of the trails and the surrounding hill country. A gray ribbon going on into the distance.

Slithery Serpents Startling Sidewalkers

Brushy Creek trail, where I predominately do all of my training during the week, is right across the street from our apartment. It consists of a half paved half dirt trail that goes for 3.2 miles one way of paved, and at least 6 the other of dirt (I haven't run it all the way to the end in that direction yet to get an accurate mileage, but that's going to be resolved this weekend). The majority of the trail is in the shade but can grow pretty damn humid as there is also a creek that it follows. There are a few offshoots that I've seen from the paved section that consist of woodchippy like paths, but I haven't checked those out yet (that's for tomorrow mornings run).

Along the sides of the paved section of the trail, for about three to four feet on either side, there's grass and hard packed soil (thank you Texas heat) before the treeline starts. Usually, the grass is anywhere from ankle to just below knee high. Running through it is a simple pleasure, especially during early morning runs when the grass is still wet from the night before.

Recently, The Powers That Be, mowed all along the sides, which wasn't a big deal, until I began to notice just how many snakes I've been missing. All this time I've been truckin along in utter bliss of the slithery suckers that have been just beside me. Normally I don't mind, coexisting with Mama Nature ispart of the package, but when I step up on a snake at the last minute and it's as thick as my wrist and as long as my arm, then I have a few issues.


The second snake of note that I ran into was farther down the trail. Some walkers had stopped about 10 feet from it and were looking and pointing in it's direction, they were so transfixed on the sun bather that they were startled when I was almost upon them. Normally I take an ear bud out on such occasions just in case, and as I did they warned me. "You should stop and let him get off the trail, he might jump at you."


After a lenghty discussion where I tried to explain that he might be hanging around for a while as he was taking in a little sun, I just gave up and grabbed the longest stick I could find and nudged the little (I use that sarcastically) guy off the trail.


The remaining miles went by without as much excitement, but it was nice to play the hero and this definitely boosted my mood for the duration of the run.