As I neared Mt. Gretna, I saw the ground was covered in a fresh coat of snow...and as I started out running, I found myself in the middle of a squall. I typically do not take my phone with me on runs, but I didn't relish the thought of getting lost, so I brought it along so I could consult the park trail map as I had a route mapped out I wanted to follow. Since I had my phone, I was able to snap some pictures with the fresh snow and the setting sun. On that run, I crossed the 50 mile mark for the month. I thought that it may have been the first time I had ever run 50 miles in one month, and that realization, coupled with the euphoria that comes with running in the woods helped my attitude a bit. Once home, I did look back at some of my old running data (since spring 2012 I have been using Garmin Connect and Strava to track my running...but prior to that I used MapMyRun and Nike+). I logged in to my MMR account and saw that in March 2011 (which was an interesting time in my life, for sure) I had run 59.63 miles; however, that was mostly due to four long runs on the weekends (10.75 miles, 7.18 miles, 13.46 miles, and 12.98 miles) with very little running during the week (which for sure is not the way to go about it). Even still, 50 miles in one month seemed like a big deal to me since I have never been consistent in my running.
Since I've "discovered" trail running (albeit only recently), I have found myself almost craving getting out and hitting the trails - I certainly never truly had that feeling about running before. I am almost obsessively looking at maps in the area trying to find trails. My next independent foray will most likely be on a PA State Game Lands that is contiguous with some of the Governor Dick property.
Although I feel better (emotionally and physically) when I am running on trails, I did have to hit the road on Tuesday around home, and was able to log another 4 miles. So, I finished out January with 55.81 miles recorded ... there was a little mishap on 1/9/17 where my watch died early on in my run, so in reality a bit more than a mile wasn't recorded. That run was quite memorable, as I decided to take BOTH ACDs (my Australian Cattle Dogs, Timber and Pippy) with me...and they decided to get in a bit of a tiff with each other, which caused some excitement, but that story is for another day...for awhile after that, I decided to leave them both at home; here are two pictures of them pining away as they watched me run off down the road without taking them with me one evening. Bryan did end up playing frisbee with them before I came back, so their hearts weren't broken for too long. (please excuse the browness of the garden in the winter and the random brush pile that needs to disappear...it isn't like I don't have a chipper or any other means of disposing of it - ha!)
I am feeling a bit unsettled, however, that currently we are 8.5% of the way through the year, and I am only 5.5% of the way towards my goal of 1000 miles in one year. I am not *too* concerned yet, but I will have to start making my weekend runs a bit longer and most of my runs during the week no less than 3 miles, and certainly closer to a minimum of 4 miles. During the week (M-F) I typically only run 3 days a week, although there were two weeks in January I didn't get 3 full (shorter) runs in (one day, due to the weather, I attempted a treadmill run, but quickly aborted that plan after 1 mile on the dreadmill).
I am not officially signed up for any races, but I will be registering soon for a trail half-marathon in April, and potentially a shorter trail run prior to that. My dad also wants to run a 10K this spring, so I am on the hunt for a good one. I also may attempt a full marathon at some point later in the year, although the ones on my "bucket list" probably aren't an option for the next year or so due to other travel plans, schedules, etc.
