Tues: 2-mile run on track (4 mi total)
The most terrifying part of the General McLane High School soccer tryouts was the 2-mile run, which prospective players were supposed to complete in under 12 minutes. I never quite made it (though it wasn't a hard cutoff, so I did always make the team), but I decided to give it another shot almost 9 years after my last attempt. I jogged down to the track at SUNY Cortland, ran hard for 2 miles in finished in 11:48. Sweet redemption.
Wed: Trail Run at Green Lakes State Park (1:10)
Green Lakes is a very popular park just outside of Syracuse with trails that come in three flavors: flat, often crowded paths around the lakes, shady dirt trails through mature forest, and rolling grass trails through a large area of fields. This run sampled all three.
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| Green Lakes trail map with my route highlighted |
I parked at the end of Aladdin Drive, which is in a residential neighborhood just outside the southwest corner of the park, and ran on unmarked but well-defined paths to the Farmers Hill Trail, which runs around a very large, open field. Next I turned right on the Hernia Hill Bypass, which drops steeply into the woods, and ran through an impressive stand of old growth forest on the way to Round Lake.
Round and Green Lakes are the highlights of the park; in addition to being very scenic, they are extremely interesting in terms of their biology, geology, and chemistry. I ran a full loop around both lakes, giving me a chance to enjoy their calm, clear, and green-tinted waters. After the circuit of the lakes, I headed back up the hill, through the forests and fields, and down to my car, completing a very nice run before the day's sweltering heat set it.
Thurs and Fri: rest
Tweaked left foot + 100 degree heat = first two day break in a very long time.
Sat-AM: Trail run in Tuller Hill State Forest (11.7 mi, ~2100 ft gain, 2:10)
Unlike the convoluted routes I have been putting together for my recent long trail runs, this run was pretty straightforward: an out-and-back on the Tuller Hill section of the Finger Lakes Trail.
Parking at the intersection of Stafford and West River Roads, I started with a short run down the latter before turning into the woods and beginning the climb up Snyder Hill. This is one of the bigger climbs in the area (almost 800 ft), but it is rarely steep and is interspersed with level and even slightly downhill portions. The first segment runs along the edge of a fairly deep ravine, including an interesting promontory that drops away steeply on three sides. After topping out, the trail drops down a little and traverses the side of the hill for a while before descending to Woodchuck Hollow.
The Woodchuck Hollow section is a great piece of trail, paralleling a nice creek and dipping in and out of numerous side gullies. The footing is very tricky in places, with lots of large roots, rocks, steep drops, and sharp turns. After a little over a mile of this, the trail climbs gradually out of the hollow, then makes a short descent to Carson Road, at which point I turned around and did the whole thing in reverse.
Although I kept a decent pace throughout, this was far from my best run, primarily due to some pain in my left foot, especially on climbs and sections with uneven footing. Unfortunately, that describes pretty much all of the Escarpment Trail Run, which I'm doing next weekend. Hopefully, with some rest this week the foot issue will resolve and I'll be able to run the race at full strength.
Sat-PM: Kayaking/tubing on Tioughnioga River (~11 mi, 4:30)
Though I can't recommend pulling an inner tube behind a kayak for this distance, this was still a very fun trip. Check out my trip report.
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