Days of Old Track and Trail 10K

I had planned on using today's "race" as an easy 6 mile trot in preparation for a grueling 20 miles of hill repeats at Afton tomorrow. Not sure why, but the run didn't feel all that easy. Makes me a little nervous about being able to pull off one more good long hill workout before Moose Mountain in 3 weeks.

Beautiful morning for doing anything outside! Got to Maple Lake High School in plenty of time to check in and socialize with the gang. Lots of folks in the MN Trail Run Series showed up for this one - a few of which I hadn't seen in awhile :) This is a pretty small and laid back race, so it was nice to have a few more folks than usual since the proceeds benefit the high school's cross country and track teams.

We started out on a paved road for a short distance before turning onto a dirt road. We probably ran at least a mile and a half before reaching a park where the actual trails began. Very nice run through the woods - non-technical trails with a few small ups and downs, but fairly flat (at least compared to most of the other trail races I've run). After the trail loop, we doubled back on the dirt and paved roads to finish near the softball field on the high school campus. Given the easy nature of the course and the pace I was running, it felt tougher than it should have. Oh well - I'll recover by watching more Olympic coverage on TV today.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who came out to support the runners!