Having made my goal of six hours
last year, this year I decided to stop and smell the flowers along the
trail. I brought a camera to
capture some of the lake scenery. The
weather cooperated with a magnificent day.
Inspired by last year’s border collie participant, my Aussie-mix
Meg joined me this year. She
trots like a coyote and had an easy time of the run.
Meg is a Hurricane Rita rescue dog from
Lake Charles
,
LA
who fully enjoys the cooler weather of the northeast
U.S.
For the first half of the Wakely trail we ran with
Pat Canonica
and his Labrador retriever Bob. Bob
came from the same rescue network as Meg.
At the bridge over
South Lake
(mile 15) the two dogs jumped into the reeds and frolicked like
dolphins. We did the first
half of the course in 4:20.
The second half was at my normal pace, running it in 3:10.
It was nice to have more energy than usual for the 2nd
half of the course. Its
hills didn’t seem as formidable this year.
Meg enjoyed the swim in Cedar River Flow at the finish line.
I packed a little more gear this
year – including camera and dog food.
For water I carried four 8-ounce bottles on a waist belt
(Amphipod) – drinking and purifying a bottle every half hour (Katadyn
tabs, cut in ¼, carried in a contact lens holder).
Other supplies were carried in a vest pack (Ultimate Direction
Wasp). I ate an energy bar
of some sort every hour. Most
of the bars are tasteless and overly chewy.
I like Shot Bloks but need some variety.
I drank about 120 ounces of water – spiced up by electrolyte
dust (Gookinaid Hydralyte). I
continue to love trail running in Inov-8 shoes - the Mudroc 280 is a
good model for Wakely.
The deer fly index this year was
0.
Enough of the narrative. Here
are seven photos from a glorious day:
