Winter Pickle Run (1 of 3) - Ridley Creek State Park

Ridley Creek State Park has always been about 5 miles away from my parent's house, yet I havent been there in about 20 years.  Well, that changed today with my first run sponsorded by runtheday.com.  It is their annual Winter Pickle Series.  Series consists of 3 runs, one in January, February, and March.  This was the first of the 3, and I will probably run all 3 of them (since they are so close to home.)

There are 2 courses that can be run. 
1.) An out-and-back 5k (so run 1.6 miles out, turn around, and run 1.6 miles back).  All of paved roads
2.) A 7k (4.4 mile).  The first 2/3 are on pavement, with the last 1/3 on trails.

My original plan was to run the 5k only, since I wasn't crazy about doing a race partly in the snow.  I didn't have to decide at the start of the race, but I was 75% sure this is what I was going to do.  Once again, I ran with my buddy Chris Felix.  He was in the same boat as me (probably going with the 5k, but wasn't 100% sure).

So we are getting ready to start the race.  Probably about 300+ people or so.  Both courses start at the same time, same place.  If you do the 5k, then you turn around at the 1.6 mark and run back.  If you do the 7k, you hang a right at that turn around, run about 1.5 miles on another road, and then 1.5 mile on the trail.

Chris Felix and I actually ran together on this one.  We have done about 7 or 8 runs together, and this was the first time we actually ran next to each other.  That lasted about 25 seconds, and then he was gone.  At least I got to enjoy his company for 25 seconds, and I will treasure that time forever!

As you can see below, the road wasn't that wide, so it took a good 3/4 mile to spread out.

Coming up on the 1/2 way point of the 5k, I still wasn't sure what I was going to do.  I passed Chris, which means he had already made it to the turnaround, and was on his way back.  He yelled at "5k" to me, which I figured since he was running in that direction. 



So, 100 feet away from the turnaround.  What am I going to do?  I am going to put on my skirt, and turn around like Christina Felix, or am I gonna man up, do the full 7k.  What would Rocky Balboa do?

Sure enough, I man up and decide to run the full 7k.  The turnaround point turned out to be a 1/3 of the total race.  Next 1/3 was all on paved road, but not an easy road to run on.  Lots of ice, so had to be careful.  I shoot Felix a text, so he knows that I will be longer.  It took me 3 minutes to type (while running) "Im doing trail."  My multi-tasking skills are not the greatest.



So after the middle 1/3 of the race, comes time for the final 1/3, all on the trails of the park.  There was a pickle to lead the way up the trail

And then the trail run starts, with about a 1/4 mile, all up hill.  Absolutely brutal.  Had I not been running all week in the snow and inclement weather, I may have had to stop and walk like some people.  However, as everyone knows, I am an athletic beast, and never stopped to walk at all.  I probably passed about 30 people on the trail, which I have to be honest, felt pretty good. 

Orange arrows spraypainted in the snow for directions

Damn slackers freaking walking while I am trying to run.  I was polite, but I wanted to yell at them to get the hell out of my way.

So the trail part was tough, but very fun.  I was glad I ran outside all week, so I was ready for this.  I finished the race in 51 minutes, which I was very happy with.  (considering the hills on the trail, I thought it was pretty good).  I feel very confident about the 10 mile run tomorrow.  Here are a a couple pics taken by the folks who organized the race of the Herculean athlete coming out of the trail

(my friend Jake Goodridge commented on this picture on facebook.  He asked if this was the "Stalker 5k" since I look like a creep coming out of the woods.  I thought that was pretty funny)

Finish area:  They had gatorade and popcorn.  I was very happy

Finally, here is a pic of the race number and long sleeve shirt.  Strangest shirt I have ever seen.  The pic is of the back of the shirt, but there is nothing on the front (just blank of the front.)  I find that weird, but I like it.

Run at Goose Creek Park in Westtown

Sometimes I forget how gorgeous Chester County can be.  I decided to take a run in Goose Creek Park (by Rustin High School) for something different.  The trail was not plowed, so ran the entire thing in snow.  I love running in the snow.  I probably enjoy it because it makes me feel like Rocky Balboa in Rocky IV (when he was training in Russia, to beat Ivan Drago, and put an end to the Cold War).  I figured I would take my camera with me to take some pics.  At one point in the run, I actually ran off the trail and up onto an abandoned railroad.  That was pretty cool.

I have two runs this weekend, so this was the last easy run before them.  5k tomorrow in Ridley Creek State Park, and then a 10 miler on Sunday in Wilmington.  Both runs with my buddy Chris Felix. 

Just a good 32 minute run in the snow.  Since I enjoy running in the snow, I better make sure that I do it while I can (before it melts)

Here are the pics

and then these were when I hopped up onto the railroad tracks:

the next two were taken while running on the railroad tracks, under the 926 bridge.  Who knew that somebody actually decorated the inside of a brdige:

and then just a few more,

Hard to see, but there this is actually a bridge, there is a road underneath the tracks here

A morning run on Struble (trail covered in snow)

I was disappointed that I ran this past Saturday while it snowed and I didn't have any pictures to show for it.  Well, last night we got some snow.  After dropping the kids off at daycare, I decided to take a little trip over to Struble Trail and do a run for 30 minutes or so (and this time I brought my camera).  The trail was obviously not plowed, so I was literally running in probably about 4 inches of snow or so.  Nobody was on the trail except me.  Absolutely beautiful.  Below are some pics:

Athlete's Closet Winter Series (2 of 4) - 5k

This race was supposed to be yesterday, but was postponed by the snow until today.  I was not signed up for it, since I was participating in the 5 mile run on Struble Trail.  However, Niki and Uncle Phil were signed up for it.  Because the race was postponed, the two of them were unable to run it today.  Niki informed me of this last night, and inquired if I would take her spot, and if I knew anybody who wanted Phil's spot.  Well, sure enough, within 2 minutes of that I had contacted Chris Felix, and it was a done deal. (so, I ran as Nicole Bugey, and Chris ran as Phil Difrancesco.

so, Chris and I met over at the Athlete's Closet for a 9:30am 5k run in West Chester (off of 5 Points Road). 
It was chilly, but the roads had been plowed so just a few slick spots.

Some pics from the start

Here is a pic of the actual starting line (just cracks me up)

and a picture of Chris Felix disguised as Phil DiFrancesco

and we are off...
the course weaves through a neighborhood like a serpentine.  Lots of rolling hills.  Good thing was though there were not a lot of cars around, so I always felt like I could run in the middle of the road

Finished it in 29:20.  Not a great time, but lot of hills, so I will take it.  All in all, I wasn't planning on doing this until about 8pm last night, so it was kind of a nice late notice surprise.  Looking forward to doing the next one in February.

Finally, Here is a nice picture of Nicole Bugey and Phil DiFrancesco.  Phil does look different, but not THAT different.  Niki on the other hand looks very different, and absolutely phenominal! 

Phil and Niki:

New Years Resolution Run - 5 mile (2 of 5) in Downingtown, PA

Woke up this fine Saturday morning with about 2 inches of snow on the ground.  Was that going to stop me from headed out to Struble Trail, of course not!  Met with Chris Felix at the start of Struble at 8:45 in the morning.  Since it was snowing, I was not sure if the run would still be on, but sure enough it was.  Had to be about 25 runners or so.  Runners had their choice of running 2.5 or 5 miles.  Myself and Mr. Felix elected to run the latter. 

Unfortunately, I did not bring my camera, but my lord was the scenery beautiful.  Running with an inch or two of snow on the ground was a little challenging.  Running with snow blowing in your face is even more challenging, but that was for only the first 1/2 of the race.  Of course at the 1/2 way point, I wiped out as I turned around.  No problem though, got right back up and starting heading back to the zero mile marker. 

Finished in 57:30, which I did not think was bad for running in the snow.  A certainly unforgettable experience running while it is actually snowing.  Hope to do it again someday. 

Next week, Mr. Felix and I will be running the Pickle Run in Ridely Creek State Park, so we will not be able to do the 3rd run (of 5) of this series.  I'm sure we will return for runs 4 and 5 the following weeks.