One Mile at a Time...

My girlfriend suggested we go running together on a new trail today. We got a one-page summary of all the bike trails (cars not allowed) in King County on Sunday at the Seattle International Bike Expo, which incidentally we didn't find very impressive. We chose the Snoqualmie Valley Trail (see the right side of the map, 18MB download) because it was over 30 miles long, it looked relatively isolated from traffic, and I wanted to do a long run.

We chose roughly the midpoint of the trail where there was a parking lot: Carnation, WA (once the map opens, right click on the parking lot and select "Drive to..."; surprisingly, Microsoft Live has better features and closer satellite views than Google Maps, but on the other hand I don't think I can dynamically integrate it into this Web page). The name sounded pretty cool too and we've never been there before.

My plan was to head south for five miles, turn around, go by the parking lot to get a drink and an energy gel, head north for five and go back. The trail itself is mostly dirt mixed with rocks, with occasional gravel or cement-covered bridges that go over creeks. Heading south a mile or so into the run I passed by a guy who was wearing what looked like a beaver hat, you know, the type worn by fur traders in the 19th century. He looked (to me) somewhat suspicious and wouldn't make eye contact. Less than a hundred yard further was a small timber mill. The next four miles were uneventful and the scenery was nice but not great--mostly trees on both sides of the trail.

At five miles, I was feeling good and decided to go to six and then do the same on the other side of the trail, making my run 24 miles. Running back, I ran into my girlfriend and was surprised that she was still heading towards me (she saw the same guy and was freaked out a little, but talked to him on purpose and asked if she saw someone running by; and, there was another wierd guy we saw on a mountain bike with a military-style jacket and a pink hat that would not look at us when he passed by). She even continued on further before turning around and her total mileage was almost 11 miles, the most she's ever done (she's not a runner, which made it very impressive). I felt a little weak at mile 11, and was very thirsty when I got to the car. I ate a candy bar, drank almost a whole bottle of energy water and continued on with a liquid gel in my hand. I stopped for almost three minutes and the next mile was pretty tough. Stopping for so long wasn't good. What was even worse was not taking a liquid gel with me when I started the run. My rule from now on is to DRINK AND/OR EAT EVERY SIX MILES at the very least when running over 10 miles. This is training I'm talking about where access to both is logistically difficult. During a fully-serviced marathon, I'll drink more than that.

I never fully recovered from that gaffe. When I started running again after the break, it felt like my "crash" at the Vancouver Marathon last May where I started feeling very weak after I stopped for a drink at around mile 18 or 20 and then couldn't catch up with my pack. I think another important lesson I learned today is to see if I can eat/drink while running. At the very least, I want to do more research on the issue and see which is better. The possible problem with not stopping is getting stomach cramps. Today, I only felt better a couple of miles later for just a little bit because I was going to turn around at 16 miles to only go for 20 total, but pushed myself on to 17, making the total distance 22 miles. The last 3 miles were very tough--not so much the cardio, but the pain in my muscles, a-la the New York City Marathon last November.

By the way, the scenery is prettier heading north from Carnation. Along the way, I saw a couple of signs that told me confirmed that this is country, city boy: "No shooting within 300 yards of trail". If we split up next time, I think we'll take the dogs with us next time because of that, and the scarcity and caliber of the people we saw (to be fair, I also ran by 5 or 6 other people where we acknowledged each other). Overall I like this trail.

Total: 22.00mi Run; (2:48:29; 7:39/mi. pace; 2478 cal.; 148 lb.)