Holiday - Dec 50k

I have fallen in to this trend of doing at least one 50k run per month. This month I went down to do the trails around Crowders and Kings Mt parks. I had wanted to go up to South Mountain State Park, but with the rain and snow in the mountains, I figured that I would opt for some different trails. Maybe some less snow covered.

This turned out to be a good choice. I ran this run on the a Friday so the trails were extremely quiet. I think that I only met 10 people over the entire 31 miles. 

It was a little cold starting out from Crowders. The temperature hoovered around 32 degrees, but once I started climbing up Turnback trail, the coldness disappeared. 

I think the views from the top are even better this time of year. With the leaves now gone, there is pretty much a 360 view from anywhere along the ridgeline. 

I did notice when I dropped down on the northern side of the ridge, I could feel the cold and wind more. By contrast, the southern expose was bathed in sunshine. 

I think this is the latest in the year that I have run here. With the sun running along just over horizon, the feeling of the sun setting always seems to be present in the back of my mind. It is an eerie feeling that the day is over. Makes me want to run faster. 

Normally, I run up Brown Mt on these runs but this time I bypassed Brown Mt. and headed further down toward the campground. It gave me a chance to explore some trails that I hadn't seen in a long while. 

The run back was quiet. I banged my feet on a few rocks as the fatigue started set in. Reminded that a fall could happen at any time, I concentrated harder on where my two size 12 shoes should go.

Crossing the final road, I knew the long line of steps lay ahead. In some ways, I dread those steps but in others, I look forward to them. They are steep and difficult to navigate, yet once I cross them, I know that I am roughly two miles away from my car. That's two easy downhill miles. Some how, I always seem to find the energy to muscle up and over them.  

I pulled back in to the Crowders parking lot a little over 6 hours after starting. I was happy to be done, but I was equally happy to have enjoyed a long day outside enjoying trails. 

The Cool Down Runner