I started back to running after missing 18 days. I was very tentative as I had both the foot and knee bothering me and I had the big brace on my arm. It was much nicer once I got the brace off and the go-ahead to run without the smaller brace as long as I stayed on decent surfaces. Falling could be a major setback! I started physical therapy for the thumb and slowly increased my mileage running. I’d struggle all month with a much slower pace than I’d been running prior to the injury.
Eric Morse and I had planned on a trip to up-State NY to tackle the Adirondack Rail Trail. I felt I was doing enough running to still give it a go, knowing I’d be doing a relaxed pace and runs between 4-9 miles. The goal was to complete the entire 34 mile length from Tupper Lake to Lake Placid. The segment from Tupper Lake to Floodwood was still under construction and officially closed but we figured a stealthy early morning run would not be noticed.
After a nice little 3 mile road in the Industrial Park, I hit the road on Friday morning for the 5 hour ride. A little more than half-way I stopped at the scenic bridge over Lake Champlain at Crown Point. I found two Geocaches which gave me a good excuse to get out and walk around for 10 minutes.
Then it was onward to meet Eric for a 2 p.m. run. We spotted a car at the depot in Saranac Lake Depot and then drove to the fish hatchery on Station road for a pleasant run netting us 9.5 miles of the trail. That would be the longest single run of the weekend. We had just enough time to pick up some food and drink and check into the hotel before we hit the road again. This time we spotted a car at Ray Brook road and then drove back to Saranac Lake Depot and ran 4.5 miles. That ended a long day with 17 miles of running (my most since coming back from injury).
We were up before dawn and parked in Tupper Lake after dropping a car at Floodwood. Unfortunately the construction crew was already out there by 7 a.m. We tried to sneak onto the trail but were foiled right away. We did 2 miles trying to find a way onto the trail. Then we tried a dirt road that accessed the trail. Once we hit the trail we immediately saw construction vehicles and had to turn back again, still we got in a nice 5 mile run.
Next up, we hit the donut shop/laundromat in Tupper Lake and picked up a dozen cake donuts with tasty frosting. That would be the carrot that’d be dangling in front of us the rest of the day. We headed over to Mt Arab and got in a nice 2 mile hike (900’ of climb/descent) with some great views from the fire tower on the summit. After that we headed to Station road and then ran the 7 miles back to Floodwood. We checked out a little bit of the closed section and saw more construction vehicles, so we definitely could not have done that section. We’ll have to finish “red lining” the trail later.
The afternoon featured donuts, french fries, and a lot of college football. We were up at 4 a.m. on Sunday morning and greeted with 33 degree temps and a lot of frost on the car windshield. We dropped a car at the end of the trail and drove on to Ray Brook. The final 6 mile run was chilly with an east wind making it feel even colder. Unlike the other runs we’d done we saw only one biker during the early cold miles. We were done a little after sunrise and on the road. I finished off the weekend with a pleasant run on the Stevens rail trail in Warner and some Dunks while relaxing in the sun.
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