I woke up super early and super anxious this morning so finally decided just to get out of bed and run, and run, and run. Three loops of this course actually went fairly painlessly with significant negative splits. I do need myself a good warm up!
Ran this course this morning, and it’s a bit different with the recent rain. There are a couple of large puddles, one near the wildflower garden and another on Beebe Lake (North side, if I have my directions correct). Trails were a little greasy in spots; I slipped in the gunk along the shoulder of the road in the Arboretum.
Time was slow, but I just told myself to cover the ground. Legs are still heavy from the Gorges Half Marathon.
I opted for a breakfast sandwich and chocolate milk from the Dairy Bar.
A day off called for a romp around the arboretum and Beebe Lake. Every time I go out I think “I don’t need the directions” and every time I am proven that, actually, I still do need the directions. Which means I added 0.2 as a bonus to this run.
Stopped by the Cornell barns to say hi to the ponies.
Ordered poutine for pick up at Brewer’s Cafe and Tap Room on the way home, and also purchased some adult beverages.
Haha, it took me a few tries too to get this one down from memory! It’s a fun course once you remember which way to go.
My partner is leaving his apartment at Hasbrouck today and we are packing up all his stuff, so I took advantage of one last day of proximity to the Beebe Lake course to run it again! Of course, I got lost again 
(this time not so much trying to find the stairs in the Wildflower Garden but at the beginning, forgetting to turn left onto the trail on Weeping Willow Road). But it was such a beautiful morning for a run! 
Tomorrow we are traveling to Canada to visit my partner’s family, so we stopped at Ithaca Bakery to buy some presents for them. They have such a good selection of jams!
I was having a tough time of it with today’s effort at the Beebe Lake course because it was very humid and I wasn’t running fast enough to out run the bugs. But then I introduced myself to a fellow runner, @trislee23, And things got better. I hope that I have used her correct forum name, but she was definitely named Trista and it was her first ever challenge course. I had a really nice time running with her and chatting and it seemed like we were out running the bugs.
@tonya-engst it was so nice to ‘run into you’ on the course! Meeting and chatting with you turned a humid run into an enjoyable first course completion. I have to say, the welcoming atmosphere I encountered at the Tortoise and Hare race was the exact reason I joined the FLRC Challenge and I am looking forward to the other courses and events 
Trying to get my running legs back after a wonderful trip to the Canadian Rockies. The Rockies are glorious and majestic and while there we saw black bears, grisly bears, elk, mountain goats and big horned sheep. But I love my home too…here is what I saw this morning on Beebe Lake:
Though, on second thought, maybe that doesn’t quite compare to this:
But it is a bit safer than this (taken from the safety of our car):
It was a chilly start to the morning as I finally had the time to do a run commute to the office from the parking lot which incorporated a Challenge course. Traffic is much lighter when you drive in an hour earlier than you usually do.
I had no motivation to grocery shop over the weekend, so I sought breakfast from Bus Stop Bagels in the form of a tuna and cheese sandwich.
Like @heathercobb3 I ran this course on the way to work today. I parked in my usual location, where I can scan in/out with my phone, but also leave it in the car.
I had a fantastic run. After last Sunday’s 7.7 mile effort at the Treman-side group run with @KimJ, this course felt easy and I was able to run up all the hills and staircases. It was such a pleasant morning, with beautiful sunny weather, and I felt… so… merged… with the landscape and I enjoyed the feeling of pushing my body through it. I crossed paths with @caitlin-loehr and saw her at the end. We chatted while I cleaned up with a small towel and water bottle and started changing into work clothes. (No time for a shower, plus I am still avoiding Teagle due to COVID.)
I bought a breakfast burrito at Trillium and enjoyed it outside on the small patio before going in to work.
That photo is breathtaking! Consider me jealous.
I took Simon out this morning for his 2nd course, and he trotted along nicely the whole way, with a few walk breaks and a snack break. We started around 7:45, so it was still nice and shady and breezy most of the way.
Decided to try and knock this one out since I was already in Ithaca (live-in Cortland)
I got tangled up on the run go directions multiple times and a few of the other challengers shared that they lovingly(?) Call the voice in rungo “Pam”. I was having a dialogue with Pam as I paused and tried to figure out where I was and how I could get back on track …“where am I Pam”, “where was I supposed to turn Pam” Anyhow I think I ultimately made it back on track my final distance was 4.5miles if I have the opportunity I will comeback and try this one again!
Enjoyed the rest of my coffee from Ithaca Bakery afterwards in the shade by my car before returning home.
Jessica’s post here reminded me to share that where I think some people go off course in RunGo is at the first left. This is based on anecdotal reports and also when I ran it the first time with RunGo, I thought it mentioned that left at the wrong time. Here’s the deal.
You’ve started running the course following the RunGo directions. You run (essentially east) on the paved road, which starts flat but becomes a hill. In the first 100 yards or so, you pass a small parking strip on the left. Almost immediately after this strip, there is a sign for Day Overlook (see photo below) and a trail to the left. It is TEMPTING to think that this is the trail. It is not. You have to go much closer to the top of the hill. The left that you want is somewhat hidden behind a large bush, at the edge of the mowed grass.
The left you do NOT want leads quickly to a staircase. The left you DO want leads to a nice woodsy trail.
Hello, I’m new! New to Ithaca, new to the group, and new to trail running. I did my first FLRC Challenge today, tackling Beebe Lake, with one minor hiccup on directions, even with RunGo. I think I’ll tackle this course again, now that I have a sense of where I’m going. I almost circled the lake entirely instead of rejoining the road. I look forward to knocking out the rest of these runs, even though I have a late start.
I fueled up with coffee and a breakfast sandwich at Coal Yard Cafe, and after my food settled I walked over to the arboretum from that neighborhood, giving myself a good warmup.
Hey, welcome to Ithaca, to the club, and to the FLRC Challenge, @tylermwright! It’s great to see you joining us, and do come to some group runs and other races so we can connect in person too.
Way to go. That is so awesome that Simon is doing the challenge with you. What a kid! What a mom!
Did this beautiful trail on Monday afternoon, July 25. Biked to and from the course from my place at the top of West Hill with 22 miles of cycling total. My legs really felt it on the climb home back up West Hill. I seem to be good at waiting until the hottest part of the afternoon but conditions were great on the trail. I thought I could just memorize the trail since I know the area pretty well, but got totally hung up in Mundy including an attempted bushwhack the old way up the hill before doubling back through the parking lot to meet the trail properly and then had another bit of confusion on the west end of Beebe Lake trying to hug the lake after the bridge followed by another correction. (Maybe I oughta try those Run-Go directions some time! 
