There’s a new course start/finish sign in place again, thoroughly greased up on the back. We’ll see if this one lasts.
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I ran the Forge The Gorge 3 mile race a couple of days ago, and was disappointed with effort I gave during the start of the race. So today, I decided to give full effort throughout the whole run, and it worked:) Really happy with a time of 17:09, 2 courses to go!
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I was able to run a 2nd challenge course today:) Just a nice tempo run, I love the configuration of this course:) My dad decided to join me on this one, it was his first ever trail run! He only got slightly lost. 
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Didn’t have time for a longer course this morning, so Charlie took me on our local Mulholland route 
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There was a huge group at the Young at Heart run tonight, so we split off on a little field trip to the wildflower preserve. Lots of new friends on Ithaca trails for the first time, so I hung back a bit once we got there to make sure everyone made it out. All in all another really fun evening!
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I am always trying to build up a cushion for ‘most runs’ on this course, but somehow that cushion always disappears. Today I promised Simon a Dunkin’ stop (Boston Cream) if he joined me for a hike on these trails. He enthusiastically agreed … and probably would have hiked even without the donut.
College students are back with a vengeance, and the parking lot was FULL on this sunny Saturday. Students were playing car Tetris, trying to squeeze into dubious spaces. The creek was as photogenic as usual, but there were no ‘Waterfalls’ to admire today.
Even though there’s only a week remaining in the Challenge, I think I’ll need to do this course again. And again. Now that she has tackled every single other challenge course at least seven times, it would be no problem for @gillian-haines-sharp to knock down seven in a row here.
We have been studying tardigrades recently up in my lab at IC, and I always wonder how many thousands / millions of them we are passing with each step through a mossy forest. There are likely tens of thousands on this lush squishy green mossy log here:
Traditional gate-slap at the turnaround point:
Heading down the hill - much easier than in the Spring, when this stretch was super muddy and slippery, and blocked by a couple of blown-over trees:
Thanks again to the organizers for putting the Challenge together this summer - it’s been fun!
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Yes! You have to slap the gate! Well, not according to the rules, but I still approve.
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My last course 
to start the day with. Matt has 4 more left. Planned to do this and triple Hump.
Arrived early because I know the afternoon can be swarmed with people. We did almost take a wrong turn up a shear hill
with all the elevation on all the courses this year I thought it was feasible 
other than that was an uneventful peaceful walk
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I had taken a shot at this course earlier in the year but it didn’t go well. It was quite hot that day and I just couldn’t seem to pick up the pace on the flat sections like I wanted to. So I returned today to pick up a few more points.
I warmed with an easy jog/hike on the first part of the course to remind myself of the turns. As I was running back to the sign I saw Chris Petroff gliding over the trail toward me at what looked like sub 6:00 mile pace. Those of you who have been following the leaderboard know the significance of this.
When I got back to start I scanned the sign, threw my phone in my car, lapped my watch, tapped the sign, and sprinted off. I was a bit sore from yesterday’s Fall Creek Trails effort but I still felt some spring in my step so I powered on.
The climbs seemed a lot less intense than they did last time (maybe because I’ve run Abbott Ascent since then) but they still tired my legs out. Once I made it to the access road it took a little bit of time for them to recover before I could start seriously pushing the pace.
Instead of a gate slap I did a bit of a gate push off, kind of like a swimmer turning around at the wall of a pool. I kept my foot on the gas until the turn down the hill. There were some loose rocks on the trail leading back down, so in the interest of avoiding any accidents I didn’t go full speed until I was back on level ground.
Knowing that Chris had probably just set the course record I did my best to find a few extra seconds on the way to the finish. I made it in 17:25. That’s 56 seconds slower than Chris, but 1:15 faster than my previous best effort. Will it be enough?
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I texted this to a couple of friends while I sat in my car in the parking lot of the Mullholland Wildflower Preserve:
“I’m heading out for a trail run … now riled up about various things. Will I trip and fall (I mean my hand is healed, so …) or have a reasonably paced run?!! Will I do two loops or just one??”
The response I received:
“You will not fall. You will have a reasonably paced run and do 2 loops. Because you are AWESOME!”
My friend was correct!! Two loops, faster pace than my previous runs, and I only just clipped a log with my toe.
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A Spot, A Spot…
My eternal gratitude for a parking spot! Only a 5 minute wait. Very glad the sign is still there
I like this little course
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The majority of the Woodses did this course as a family stroll on a beautiful day. The parking lot was full, and the trail was full of soggy collegers. But the creek was sparkling and the breeze was gentle and it was an ideal day for a walk on the trail.
When I was here a couple of days ago for ‘run’ #31, I got an up-close visit from a pair of frolicking pileated woodpeckers. No sightings today, but we did hear them chattering to each other across the forest.
Double SLAP! at the turnaround
Will 32 ‘runs’ be enough to claim the sign? Or will @gillian-haines-sharp zip through 7-in-a-row on the last day of the challenge tomorrow?
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Wow, nice work on all these hard efforts lately! It would’ve been epic if you and Chris then threw down for a one-on-one race at this. Even if he finished ahead you’d probably push harder and better your own time in the process.
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Course 3 for the Tough Trail Challenge. I arrived around 10:45 and snagged the last available parking spot. Strange that I only saw a few other people in the trail. That probably means a bunch of kids converged at the cliff for illegal swimming. This route is so short compared to the others. I zoned out and don’t remember anything about the run aside from being glad that no one boosted the QR code sign again.
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