In the first four miles, my running partners got to see all that this section of the Superior Hiking Trail had to offer. It was especially "fun" as the night before it had rained so that the dirt sections were now mud and all the rocks were now slippery. Even though it slowed us down a bit, it's still a pretty sweet section of trail and once you put in a little work the first few miles, you get rewarded with some sweet views.
Soon after this, Wenday's calf muscle started acting up a bit, so she made the decision to turn around and head back to the car.
Which means she missed a bit of this:
Coincidentally, this was about the spot - roughly 3.5 miles in - where my right knee started bothering me, which was slightly odd as on previous runs it was my left knee. However, it wasn't too bad so after refilling our bottles at a cooler we previously stashed in the woods, off we went toward Jay Cooke.
Funny thing, even though we descended from Ely's Peak, once we crossed Beck's Road, the descent continued on single track until we got to "the bottom" which is a little creek bed carved out by Mission Creek.
I like to call this photo, "Just take the stupid picture so I can finish climbing this hill Stu!" which I think was pretty close to the actual words coming out of my sweet niece's mouth. (Note: a few days later, Lindsey mentioned that she was buying her first pair of trail shoes and as I was typing this she sent a picture of them - further proof that despite the climbs, everything else makes it worth it. Looks like the trails have created another convert!)
I continued to limp/jog and walk for the next mile and then Steve split from us to do some other trail loops to get more mileage while Lindsey Bob and I took the "short" route back. While most of it consisted of flat trail, the Munger Trail, Jay Cooke Road and Highway 210, try as I might, I just couldn't run anymore and ended up walking the last three miles - which fortunately was very tolerable.
Since then (it's now Thursday) my knee is still not happy. It's kind of weird because as the day progresses and the more I use it, it feels better and better and by the time I go to bed, it almost feels normal. Then - and here's the weird part - when I lay motionless during sleep, it starts hurting - a lot. As if NOT using it is far worse than using it. Whether that's stiffness, lack of blood flow or something else - I have no idea. I do know I've become a bit more educated regarding symptoms of patellar tendinitis, IT band syndrome, meniscus tears, and microfractures and also FGTTBARK (Fat Guy Trying To Become A Runner Knee).
Thus my slight disappointment regarding the race and how this is turning out in general. However, I'm not backing out. I made a commitment and I'm finishing it. Next week will be my last training update and the following week will be my race recap.
It's hard to believe that this journey that started 15 weeks ago with three feet of snow on the ground is almost complete - at least this leg of it. Here's the funny/sad/scary thing - I've started thinking about attempting a 50-miler...next year. First, I need to figure this knee thing out, get it under control, and move forward. Then I'll make some "other" plans.
All-in-all, it's safe to say - I have the trail running sickness! Careful, it's contagious. Just ask Lindsey!