Headwaters Preserve

As usual, hubby and I went further than we planned. This time it wasn't our fault : Garmy got lost. As in, she didn't report any type of distance gains or pace. It makes sense, running up and down steep hills while under a canopy of Redwood trees. The part that didn't make sense was that she reported a mileage of 3.97 and then I actually saw her go back down to 3.94. Granted, this trail had a million switch backs, but still, shouldn't it keep going forward? I don't know what was wrong. Regardless, we didn't know how far we had come until the turn around. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

OUR RUN

What was a perfectly sunny day in Eureka, our fourth day in a row!, I found myself wondering, "Why are we going to run in the shade when we rarely see the sun?" Well, my right knee has been taking a beating from all the sloping roads (designed to drain torrential downpours off to the sides), and I really needed something a little softer. Matt was up for an ass-kicking, as he usually is, so we drove the six miles to the trailhead. When we got out of the car, a group of guys were leaving, one said, "It's cold in there", referring to Matt's shorts, suggesting he should wear more layers. Then he added, as he glanced from our car, which still holds her Alaska license plates, back to us, "oh you're from Alaska, you'll be fine."

The first few miles were rolling hills, and it was an easy run. Then we dipped down to the Elk River, across an old iron bridge and climbed. Garmy told me it was 3/4 mi of straight uphill, unrelentingly slow, that made my heart pound uncontrollably. One of those runs that takes your ego and just stomps all over it.

Hubby is F.A.S.T.!!! He even mentioned that he's gonna try for Boston in our May marathon, 3:10 for his age group.

By the time we hit mile 4.5, the hill leveled off. To ferns and some really soft mud.

You don't want to see what I looked like from the front, lots of sweat
and bulging veins--but I felt like a warrior!

It was fun, but I imagined Ewoks jumping out behind the trees to kill us ((that part of Star Wars was actually filmed in the local area--so it's not a totally random thought)). After Garmy reported that we were twenty minutes along and only .25 mi further, I got suspicious something wasn't going right with my watch.

Happy to be on the descent!! :)

The return trip was fast and amazing. Felt like I could run forever. Whizzing back and forth along the switchbacks, I was glad that I had overdressed. A foggy chill encapsulated the valley as the sky began to darken and it sliced through my dark layers.

With about a mile left to go, we saw one remaining couple on the trail. We passed them, covered in mud and feeling more hardcore than ever, with silly little runner's high grins on our faces.

Based on the trail markers, we went 10.5 miles in 2:49. That translates to 10:30/mi. Garmy, for what 8 miles she recorded, told us we had 1,800 ft of elevation change over the course of our run. It was probably more since she missed 2.5 miles.

Tomorrow we're going to officially become Californian. Perfect grueling trail run to bid farewell to our "official" Alaskan identities.