Getting Ready for Seneca Creek 50K

[image credit Seneca Creek Trail web site]

After not having run any official ultras for some months now, I'm going to join a couple friends to run the Seneca Creek Greenway 50K on 2 March.

This low-key trail run is in Montgomery County, MD, northwest of Washington, DC.  It's amazing that such a nice trail can be found that close to the city.

Anyway, back to the prep work: I finally got a suitably long run in yesterday, along the C+O Canal just south of the Mason-Dixon Line from me.  Parking in Williamsport, MD, I ran about 6 road miles to reach the Canal towpath, then followed it back upstream for 12 more miles to my vehicle (parked at the Cushwa Basin in Williamsport).

Then came the test.  I had some PowerAid drink at the truck, and as I ran the 50 yards or so from the Canal to my truck, manly distractions tried to distract me.  I saw the F150 label for the most popular truck in America ("Ford tough"), the 4x4 Off Road decal, the trailer hitch for pulling manly loads, the large mud and snow tires.

I had to decide whether to pack it in at 18 miles--because I was getting tired--or just hop into my man machine and get my macho kicks that way.

I grabbed the PowerAid and headed back onto the trail for another 4-5 miles.

Interesting run in the sense that I saw virtually no wildlife: only a hawk, a Great Blue Heron, some waterfowl, and some squirrels.  Typically I see numerous deer and usually some wild turkeys, but that was not the case in this run.

But in the light dusting of snow, there was a plethora of tracks, some of which followed the towpath for a considerable distance.  I've keyed them out as raccoon, muskrat, and even a beaver!  The muskrats, especially, seemed at times to be having a party, with the tracks of several individuals all co-mingled with snow tossed about.

Anyway, I had an absolutely wonderful day on the trail and feel ready for the 50K.