the Way of the Turtle

FINALLY! A RUN!
10 Mile Run in the Albany Pine Bush
Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Between skipping the Flower City Half Marathon on Sunday (and then deciding to head straight home rather than stopping for a run along the way... dumb dumb dumb) and work being an absolute bear this week (tests, tests, and more tests as we sprint toward the end of the school year) tonight was my first run of any length in a week. Yes, I ran a 5k at for the first leg of the Rochester River Challenge Paddle Triathlon last Saturday, but I consider that more of a warmup for the riding that followed rather than much of a run. Lack of sleep and a cold rainy day had me seriously questioning if I even wanted to run tonight... but with the Medved Madness 15 miler coming up on Sunday and NIPMUCK looming off in the not-too-distant future, I knew I had to force myself to hit the trails for a while tonight. And as tough as it was, I was glad I did. As tough as it was to push myself up and down the hills in the Pine Bush as tired as I was, it turned out to be a really pleasant evening overall and I probably ended up much happier in the end than if I'd stayed home and either tried to get more work done or (more likely) fallen asleep.

For a change I decided to park at the Willow Street trailhead. Anyone who reads my ramblings on any sort of regular basis will know how much it pains me to see the "habitat restoration" that's been done in the Pine Bush in recent years, in many cases razing acres of trees to the ground, and the Willow Street parking area is a prime example. What was once a wonderful shady spot to park the car and head out on a walk, run, or ride is now open to the sky with a view of a swathe of downed trees and limbs left behind when the lumbering company did their thing there last year. Ugh.

I headed up the hill and out onto the Great Dune (which seems much more dune-like, now that large sections of it have been cleared of trees... sigh.) One of the things I really enjoy about getting outdoors this time of year is seeing everything becoming green again, and all the little flowers and blossoms along the way. Looped around on the blue trail and then down toward the old work area... I have to wonder if the plan is to leave the huge pile of limbs and stumps there until they rot, and how that fits into the "restored" Pine Bush habitat.

more to come...