Shoot for the Stars

Wikeson. 8:00 a.m. picked up Anna in Enumclaw to run with Mishel, Jeff, and I. We went up to Wikeson town past Sunset Lake. We drove off on a trail that went a ways passed Enumclaw...maybe 30 min. It was a state park that part of the land was on Mt. Rainier property. We were able to park our vehicle though without paying since none of us had cash. We ran up a paved trail but then quickly turned into dirt, gravel, and mud. It was a tough trail because there was definetly a gradual incline the whole way (4.9 miles) and also the elevation diff compared to what I am used to. The weather was nice though, slightly foggy, but no rain. We even swa some sun and clear blue skies along the way. Anna took some pictures as well! Great run! There we a couple of spots we had to jump over a little water and step in some mud. We stopped and drank water and had some energy food when we got the camp ground at the end and start of another trail head up to some glaciers. We enjoyed the raging river on the trail. We really picked up the speed on the way back but I didn't feel as good. I wasn't weak this time but I prob ate too much of my snickers bar/marathon energy bar and felt slightly stiff and tired on the way back. I took more of the rear. I ran with Jeff most of the way back. Anna and Mishel were booking it with a nice pace of 7:30 on the way back. Shocking for Mishel to keep up with Anna! Go girls!!!

Sheri's place. 5:30 a.m. Very cold and foggy. Mishel said it was 32 degrees but Sheri was convinced that it was low 40s. It felt very cold this morning but still not sure it was freezing. However, I never fully warmed up this morning so I wore a jacket and long capris the whole time. We ran the route to the R of her St and then looped around and back again. Lots of hills that were extremely difficult this morning. Sheri charged up them but Mishel and I were having trouble. We saw a couple of people walking past us as we ran down the hill.

Lakeland Hills. 5:15 a.m. Mishel gave me a ride because she decided to run today. I ran today but it was hard because I had an eye infection yesturday and I might have still had it on my run. Bright lights would hurt my eyes and it was hard to open. It felt sandy however they seemed to feel fine when I was running. They still felt a little different when I woke up. It was Mishel, Niki, Janet, and I who ran. Good run other than the eye issues. Niki and I were talking about contacts and what can sometimes happen.

Cedar River Trail. 7:30 a.m. I met up with the Cedar River runners at Lake Wilderness Lodge. I met up with Anna because she said she wanted to run there with Mishel and I. However, it didn't work out for Mishel due to close to church time getting back. The weather was absoluetly GOREGOUS today!!! It was in the high 40s but clear skies and the sun came out for a lot of the time! We had a nice size group. Some included Cliff, Trev, Tony, Mary, etc...There were also 2 other lady runners. There was Gage, Anna's dog and then Mary brought her dog, Emily I believe was her name. We had some other guys as well. I think there were maybe 8-10 of us. We also happen to be running the same time there was a race going on for Halloween 1/2 marathon. We saw 3 ladies with cute halloween socks as well. I ran with Anna most of the time and some new guy who seemed pretty into running bc he has done 3 iron man runs. He was trying to keep his pace low though. We ran with Mary near the end of the run after we stopped for 5-10 min for bathroom breaks at end of run before we had to turn around. The pace that we kept was very fast pace! Anna definetly kept me going a lot faster than I would normally run. That is why we mainly stayed in the 8 min mile range until the end I was so tired! I didn't eat any gu but I had some of propel water and also had a small breakfast before the run. When we got to the end we got to have cinnamon rolls that Cliff brought (I kept them in my car while we ran for him) and hot chocolate that Mary had brought! Fun Fun! I had to take off to make it in time for church!