6-7 Mile Run in the Albany Pine Bush
Monday, May 1, 2006
Toward the end of last week my left knee began giving me a fair amount of grief, which had me seriously concerned about whether or not I'd be able to keep up with my training plan and have a chance of completing the Nipmuck Trail Marathon at the end of the month. So after several days of no running and a certain amount of feeling sorry for myself, as well as some research into the possible causes of the pain in my knee (probably overuse, surprise, surprise), I once again hit the trails in the Pine Bush to determine what I can and can't do (in particular, how would running or walking up hills affect it.)
It definitely felt good to get out in the woods again, and much of the time all I got from the knee were mild twinges. I carried an expandable treking pole with me, and discovered that (1) it's a big help on the hills, and (2) if I'm going to RUN up those hills I need poles in both hands. (So now I'm thinking about a carrier for the poles that I can strap to my back. Collapsed, they're about the size of escrima sticks, so it might be possible.)
I hit the trails fairly late, so I didn't have much company, at least not of the human kind. Shortly after dark I heard what sounded like dogs howling - figured it was dogs at one of the nearby developments, but then decided it was too close, so my 2nd guess was kids out fooling around. A little further and I realized - nope, not kids: coyotes! I'd read about the coyotes in the Pine Bush but had never seen any sign of them, but they were definitely making a racket last night. They quieted down as I got near, but I'm pretty sure I heard them moving through the woods off to either side, and I may have even seen the eyes of one as he crossed the trail a ways ahead of me. It was a bit spooky, but pretty cool at the same time.
Later I caught a deer staring at me from off the trail - two orange reflections in my headlamp. Possibly one of the group that I've seen repeatedly over the last few weeks of running in there. He took off when I turned out my light momentarily. Guess he was no longer a "deer in the headlight."
Of course, the coyotes may have been laughing at me, since last night I was the Trail Running Geek from Heck. Normal running gear (shirt, shorts, and waistpack with water bottles) supplemented by a pair of 1 lb wrist weights (working the upper body/cardio), a treking pole in one hand, and, once it got dark, a headlamp. I guess it gets the job done but I'm glad no one's snapping any pictures of me.
So tomorrow night it's another run, longer and possibly hillier, to see what my knee can and can't handle. Next Monday is the last LONG run (20+ miles) assuming my knee can take it. I had been thinking of running the Thom Bugliosi 26K Trail Race on Saturday, but I'm going to pass on it... no sense risking an injury running a race on an unknown course. I did find a cool-sounding offroad duathlon for the following weekend - don't know yet if I'm going to give it a try, guess I have to see what the body's up for when the time comes. I'd REALLY like to run and finish Nipmuck, even if I'm slower than slow.
JMH
coyotes in the Pine Bush, photographed as part of a research study run by the NY State Museum's Wildlife Science and Conservation Initiative.
