Last Trail Run of 2008

Kathleen, Mindy, and I

And boy was it a good one! Yesterday Mindy posted a message on Vertical Runner's message board asking if anyone was interested in a run this morning before she drove up to Michigan to see her family. I jumped on this opportunity to get in one last trail run for the year and we decided to meet at Happy Days at 8am. It started snowing sometime after 3am last night and by the time we arrived at Happy Days there was already like 2-3 inches on the ground with winds gusting up to 30 mph.

We began our run on the ledges trail, heading uphill and making the first left. This takes you through some pine trees and rock structures, before heading up to the scenic Overlook. We were the first people on the trail this morning and as a result we were able to enjoy lots of freshies! The snow covered trees were also beautiful through here.

Not much visibility today!

After heading downhill from the Overlook we continued over to the mile and a half Pine Grove trail loop and then went over to the Kendall Lake Sports Center. Around this area Kathleen decided to turn back to get in approx. 7 miles for the day. Mindy and I continued on and immediately went up "The Hill", which is located in the center of the Kendall Hills area, before going up the "Sound of Music" hill en route to the bathrooms located at Pine Hollow. Here are a couple pictures and a video on top of "The Hill" to show how epic the conditions were...

We then went over and ran the Salt Run Trail before heading back to Happy Days via the Kendall Lake path and the lower ledges trail.

No matter how good you feel on your way back to Happy Days, there is always that one big hill you have to go up at the end that really works you. A lot of times I'll walk up this hill, but Mindy and I both agreed that since this would be our last hill to run up during 2008 that we might as well go for it. After a strong surge to the top we finished with a total of 10 miles. I was happy with our effort today in the snow and my legs felt pretty good during and after the run. When we arrived back at our cars we were surprised to see that it was STILL snowing! It definitely came down hard because there was an additional inch or two on the ground from the time that we started.