Sometimes you never know.

Hamlin Park, Shoreline

This past week started out tough.  I woke each morning early and planning on getting in a longer run with a workout (some intervals). Each morning, I had to bail on the workout portion of the run and just run easy miles.

One morning, I was so draggy that I couldn't have run fast if someone had paid me.
The next morning I tried an interval and realized that something was off in my gait. I had no power to run fast. I kept the miles short and went home to roll my low back and glutes out with a foam roller and tennis ball and found my calf muscles really tight. 
The third day, I woke even earlier before my alarm clock and could not get back to sleep because of some GI issues and the pouring rain.  Never mind.  I got up and planned to run (commute) home.

I never did get in that workout but ended the running week with a really nice long run (13 miles) and a pleasant recovery run on trails.  That makes 36 miles for the week with some strength training in there as well.  I'd call that a success. I would've been happy to get that workout in but just getting the miles in smartly is best.

Marked XC Course

I did have to talk myself into going for that recovery run today. It was windy and rainy and I wasn't looking forward to the rain. I knew I wanted to run on trails but didn't want to drive too far so I visited Hamlin Park in Shoreline.  It's a few miles north of us and not too big (80 acres) but with a variety of trails up and down the hillsides of a small ravine.  The rain stopped and the wind wasn't noticeable in the trees.  I saw just a few people out walking their dogs and enjoyed roaming around just looking to put some easy miles in.

There is a marked XC (cross country) course in this park.  Two loops of the course makes a 5k, I believe.  They've been doing a fair bit of work in this park too.  A rocky wash has been replaced by a graveled stair with large rock treads. There are some new stairs of wood down one hillside, some wooden bridge footpaths and to my surprise they've put in a paved road through one area.   I could've done without that actually.

This park is heavily used and it makes me wonder if some of the unofficial trails will need to be closed or walled off somehow to let the understory of the forest recovery.  I was sad to see some rather large sections of english ivy which is an invasive species here in the Northwest. In other sections, they have soft barricaded areas and have planted native shrubs and plants.  This is good to see. 

These mean STEEP.

And then you come to red triangle marked posts with numbers.  I've yet to google my way to figuring out what these are or if there is a map associated with them.  If you see one of these posts, you can bet there is a very steep hill right around somewhere. 

Wait scratch that!  Orienteering! Aha. I did find a map and a little booklet published by Cascade Orienteering.  From the booklet: "the object of orienteering is to find your way to the markers in the assigned order using the map."  I'm not sure about that one.  My object would by running around identifying them all but not necessarily in order but at least now I know.  But I guess they are not associated with a steep hill.  Ha!  I guess Hamline Park just has so many hills to choose from that's where the markers ended up. 

Anyway, good times and a chance just to check out and run with no care about pace or where I am going.  It was a peaceful end to the week and I'm thankful that there are so many interesting places to run. 

Gratuitous Keswick photo - tissue paper is really fun.