Ok, I won't complain, after all, can I ask for much more than the opportunity to actually be out there running on the trails with dogs and good friends?
That being said, we caravan-ed out to Tiger; Alan, Adam, Owen, the dogs and me. It was chilly and wet and Owen had brand new shoes on. BRAND NEW SHOES! Not for long...
We headed up and around the TMT for quiet some time. We didn't hit much snow, thankfully, just lots of mud and slippery roots. I was pretty careful as to not fall and break another finger. Lots of fast running creeks for the dogs to drink from. It was a 2 bottle plus hydration pack day so good thing the dogs had their own water.
There was also lots of biscuits for the babes..and some parts of sandwiches as well.
We got to the base of Tiger near the school in Issaquah and hit the gas station to fuel up. I was famished. I got cookies with vanilla creme filling. It just sounded so good. It's really weird the things I crave to eat while running or what I fantasize eating when I am done. Fried food, pickles, croque madam at Cafe Presse, etc. So we all got something weird and ate it outside the shell station.
We headed through Issaquah on our way to Squak. While running through town, some young punk yells out the window of his pick up "nice legs faggot!" We all started to crack up. We assumed this person's comment was directed towards Owen and his tattoo-ed legs. It provided us some entertainment and some knowledge into the town of Isaquah.
Squak
had some tough climbing with lots of slippery mud on the descents. I had my awesome Vasque Blur's on and so I felt pretty stable sliding down the hills. It was a little like skiing at times. It had been raining on and off and so the air was pretty wet as was everything around us.
It wasn't cold really, unless we stopped for too long. But I will say that I am so ready for the rain to go away and for it get to get warmer, wearing gloves all day in mid April is a bit much. We headed back to Tiger via Issaquah and this time, no comments from the town residents. We didn't stop at the gas station this time even though I wanted to b/c I was so hungry. However, I think I just wanted to be done more than I wanted cookies. We were coming in in 6-1/2 hours and I was ready to call it a (good) day of running so I kept quiet about my growling stomach.
Next thing I know, we are at High Point trail head parking lot and done! So just over 7 hours of trail time and that is good for me. We were muddy, wet, sweaty and I wanted a hot beverage with some sugar. As you can see, Owen's new shoes have been through the ringer...
I was feeling cranky, but I knew I was just hungry. I'm experimenting with what I need on a long run, how much food, what types of food etc. I can say that I need more food than I ate on this run. After a vanilla steamer and a piece of lemon loaf bread, I was restored and euphoric. It's funny, but when I am in a less than optimal mood when running during a long day, I think to myself, arg, I'm going to remember this, I'm going to remember that this sucked and that I feel crappy, blah blah blah. But after the run, after the many ups and down during a long day, all I seem to remember is that I had a blast.
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