Fun group run this morning, was able to stick with the lead crowd for the first mile (7:40) and a bit, then dropped off to a more sustainable pace with @scottpdawson for the rest. Pretty hot and muggy already for 9am, but worth it for the social time after!
A great, muggy morning for a group run. Enjoyed some rhubarb bread from Adam and delicious watermelon from Damian after!
Went to my parents house (a few miles away) and shopped in their pantry for second breakfast.
Middle of the night wakefulness… it’s too hot. I’m thirsty. Why didn’t I put my hair up? Why isn’t the fan on… if I can’t sleep, I’ll never be able to get up. Drat… I didn’t load the RunGo directions. Drat… I forgot to water the flowers. And so it goes… Awake at 7:30 but don’t know who I am or which way is up. Coffee started. Flowers watered. Wandering around house in my underwear. I did put out my clothes last night. Put them on. Don’t think, just dress. Pour coffee into thermos. Grab banana. I promised Adam I’d be in the car by 8. Get in car. Still carrying socks in bra and sneaks in hand. We leave. Hmmm… these socks are an interesting pick. We pick up @aaron.proujansky1 at the bear statute. Try to turn on brain. Say good morning. Ask normal questions. Starting to come online. We get to the group run meeting spot. It’s hot. I am awake enough to recognize faces and smile. Lots of friends and maybe-future-friends. Drat! I still don’t have RunGo. Get RunGo. Heather takes a photo. We start running. Why is everyone running so fast? Look at watch… no problem—they are just running faster than I go these days. Run along, enjoy the grasses, enjoy the shade. It’s all good. Chat with some women who went a different way. I tell them about Melty Balls (maxi and mini), which are great for conditioning your feet for grassy runs and XC courses. I am so glad I wore a tank top. Very hot. Finally finish. People cheer for me. Geez, I feel sick… coming back to life. Get water, rinse off. @DamianClemons gives me watermelon. Wow! I am now awake. Those flowers are beautiful. Actually, that was kinda fun… when can we do it again?
I could not have done this course without all the help from those who joined the group today! So many turns but it was fun. Thanks to Heather, Rachel and Tonja for running with me for part or all of my run. A warmer morning but the clouds helped to shield the sun. I really appreciated the watermelon after the run. A nice picnic table or two to enjoy a post-run snack, too.
Stopped at the Tompkins Library Book Sale on the way home (sort of) and spent $8.64 on these four books! I met Tom at the Boston Marathon last month and wanted to read his book. We stopped into the Ithaca Bakery and bought some iced coffee to get us home.
Thank you Heather and Dina for keeping me on track during today’s challenge run. Without your wonderful guidance, I could still be running in circles.
We stopped at the East Shore Park and enjoyed breakfast overlooking the lake.
It was a pleasure to meet you and Jennifer! I look forward to seeing you around at other runs.
It was really great talking with you during our run!
@Smb picked me up at 8am from the Nissan Dealership on Uptown Road where I had just checked Wilbur (our Nissan Leaf) in for an annual inspection. We then picked up @MDot from Monroe Muffler where she had just left her car for a tire change. We then had a blast running the Lansing course all together while the cars were being serviced. Thank you Susan for the lift and company.
Also bumped into @MWoods who was just about to start the course as we were finishing. Always so fun to see friends on the courses.
@Smb dropped me back off at the Nissan dealership where Wilbur was charging (for free) and waiting for me. Guess how much the inspection cost for our 2 year old all-electric Nissan Leaf? No emissions testing required.
Then I popped into Instant Replay and Dicks looking for a soft water flask for Jamie’s new Naked running belt as we are running the FLTC group county hike tomorrow, and it is going to be super hot. No luck finding the flask. Drat. Luckily there will be a SAG wagon at mile 6.6 out of 9.6 (what a luxury) so we should be okay with the flasks we have.
Answer to how much our car inspection cost: $10.00!!!
Three of us out on the Lansing Center Trail with a plan to take it once slow to learn the course and then repeat it fast. However, a pre-run plate of Luna fries eliminated two contenders from the fast run leaving Dad to do it by himself.
We were happy to see Roger Moseley out on the course while we were there!
Tried this course again after a dry week and the mud is almost entirely gone! Lots of strong wind heading back down the course, but it carried the scent of honeysuckles! Saw many swallows, goldfinches, and a rabbit.
I stopped at East Hill Plaza for a delicious post-run DeWitt melt (on a GF bagel with smoked turkey) as well as some rosemary sea salt bagels & parsley garlic cream cheese for my kids’ breakfast. Pleasantly surprised when I stopped by East Hill Antiques next door and scored a gorgeous linen blazer, sun dress, and a couple fun $1 necklaces.
I caught the 36 bus to Lansing Town Hall around 5 PM and walked to the run marker. A 4 Loco sat ominously on one of the park benches but I didn’t partake. Mighty hot but got it done. Afterwards I sought shade in the chicken lean-to and stopped to grab a photo of the nearby signage honoring Cornell Professor Baker who is credited for developing BBQ chicken. It was going to be a while before the next bus so I went exploring and ventured down Rt 34 to check out the Emilie Jonas Falls Nature Trail and the Edwards Lake Cliffs trails. Of the two I highly recommend Edwards, though part closer to shore is currently closed off. I then headed back to Triphammer to catch the last 36 just after 8 and to see a great sunset.
Edwards Lake Cliffs is a nice scenic spot for a short trail loop. It could be a good local for a Challenge course in 2023, @adamengst, if you can get the permit from Cornell.
Great thought, Pete! Especially if the closed portion reopens you could use the loops for a 5K route.
Worth adding to the list for next year! I’ve never been down there before, so will have to check it out.
Another double morning for me yesterday – first loop CCW, reversed for the second. Still super humid and buggy, so not the most enjoyable run, but the miles continue going down easily enough, so I guess that’s a good sign. Taking it easy this weekend, and planning on tackling Treman one morning early next week.
Made a new fuzzy friend while hanging out after:
I’ve been trying to be extra efficient driving, last time I filled up on gas was early May, and while I got 37 mpg out of this tank, if I wanted to make it home I needed to bite the bullet and pay the piper. I figured while I was there, I might as well have a snack on the way home!
Also stopped by Lansing Community Library for some kids books – not typical “shopping”, but still helps support local orgs!
Beautiful cool morning, if a bit sunnier than I would have preferred for running this course. But I went early enough that the upper loops still had some dense super cool shade. The trail must have just been mowed which was very nice. I decided to do a warm up loop and then to try my legs at a faster pace for the second loop. Still feeling that tight hamstring on the right but hopefully I didn’t do it any further damage. Only two small but super muddy spots both in the boggy area just before hitting the road on the lower loop. Seems like a bridge across that area would be an excellent idea. The trail must have just been mowed which was super nice.
Stopped on the way home to fill up on gas and buy strawberries for breakfast. The gas was painful, the strawberries were delicious.
After returning to Ithaca from a 6 week research trip abroad, I have just about a month to complete the Challenge courses before I leave town again!
I got pretty sick while away and I’m slowly coming back to training, so I decided to start with this as the shortest course besides the mile. I ventured out with the help of trail shoes and the RunGo directions. The shoes were probably not necessary and I don’t know if spikes would have been better - the trails were rock hard under the grass after this dry week. The RunGo directions sent me right for the first mile then got me completely turned around at the big intersection - ended up running around 0.6 miles extra doing sections more than once trying to get back on track. I think it’s a user error since I also got very lost with RunGo a few times last year 
Saw just a few other people, some very cute bunnies, a chipmunk or two and several deer.
I stopped by Scoops on my way back home and had a delicious vegan mint chip cone. Not having cash, I paid with a check - blast to the past!
Only cash or check in 2022? Wow. Good thing I keep a few bills in my iPhone case. Someone should tell them about Square.
Good to know they have non-dairy options at Scoops. Now I’m motivated to go back and run that course again!
