...that's not there in the light. It's just that you can tell ice from snow much better when the sun's out.
Time: 1:26
Distance: 9.75 miles
Effort: Moderate
Body: Good
Weather: Clear and Cool
Great early evening cruise on a route that offered a little of everything...pavement, dirt shoulders, singletrack, double track, dirt road and paved bike path. Felt really solid this whole run. Maybe some of the fitness is starting to return.
Ran down Lewis Ridge Road and up through the Hiwan neighborhood before dropping down into Troublesome Gulch for the trail climb up to Bergen Peak Drive. Ran through Bergen Park, past the rec center and into Elk Meadow Open Space.
Darkness was fast approaching, but couldn't will myself away from the Meadow View Trail singletrack. By the time I hit the Too Long Trail intersection, it was pretty much dark. Visibility, though, was decent on the packed snow sections. The white of the snow reflected just enough ambient light to enable me to keep up a respectable pace through these sections. Trouble was, when I hit the dirt sections I was relying on my trail memory to tell me where the rocks were.
Made it through the bulk of the run without incident, with the pace dropping the darker it got. At the bottom of one hill, just after a final pair of switchbacks, I planted my right foot on a patch of ice and had one of those jolt-yourself-awake moments. One second I was jamming along, eyes seemingly half-closed, with Drag the River in my ears, the next second I was wide-eyed and enjoying a rush of adrenaline as I fought to regain my balance.
Yeah, the near slip-and-fall shook me up a bit, but, man, did that brief adrenaline rush feel good. Jogged the last mile with a huge grin on my face.
Drag the River - from FoCo
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