Trail fun (times two) at Stillwell Woods

On April 28, 2013 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Mountain biking is Scott to be fun

Today’s run (Stillwell Woods): 4.4 mile + 4.5 mile hike

I returned to the trails in a big way today. This morning I went over to Stillwell for a run, and saw that Scott Sports was there, hosting an event. Scott, who also has a line of running shoes, was providing people with the opportunity to test their mountain bikes on Stillwell’s trails. The Scott folks offered me the chance to try a bike, but I really wanted to get my run in.

I was concerned that the trails would be packed with novice riders, but that wasn’t the case. I saw more bikers than usual, but most were skilled and courteous. Last night I noticed that the Fitbit had recorded over 10,000 steps, but only three staircase equivalents. My son and I decided to knock out a bunch of stair climbs, so we did another 26.

Despite some concern that I’d pushed too hard last night, I had no trouble taking on Stillwell’s steep sections today. I ended up covering 4.4 miles and appreciated the change of surface after so many recent runs either on the treadmill or on pavement.

Choosing the difficult path

Later, my son and I returned to Stillwell for another hike. Our goal was to take on Stillwell’s toughest trails and to find the elusive Ewok Forest. At every fork, we took the “more difficult” option. We found ourselves so far east that we intersected with the Trailview path toward Cold Spring Harbor. We doubled back from there, taking a circuitous route that involved a few side paths. We finally decided that we’d covered enough ground and headed back to the trail head.

One of Stillwell’s sharp drops

When we returned to the car, I checked the Fitbit and saw that we’d covered 4.5 miles, which worked out to 10,200 steps and 23 staircase equivalents. We saw new trails and I introduced my son to the junked car that I always pass as part of my regular running route. We didn’t end up taking advantage of the Scott event, but we certainly had a Stillwell workout. Today, that went double for me.

Another Trailview adventure

On April 21, 2013 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

This must be the place

Today’s run (treadmill): 3.6 miles

This morning was very busy, especially for a Sunday. My wife and daughter went to an early cooking class and my son and I had planned to go to the high school to run intervals at the track. Instead, he completed his weekend homework and I ended up doing a treadmill run. We finished our tasks, only to discover that our freezer was failing. So our morning time together involved salvaging food and trying to (unsuccessfully) restart the refrigeration process.

Ripped from the ground

Yesterday afternoon, my son and I returned to nearby Trailview State Park for another hike. I had run close to five miles in the morning, but I still had lots of energy. My son was also anxious to go. We took a different trail than we had last time, and we saw some new tree damage. One tree, measuring over 30 feet, had been pulled up from its roots. Another had broken off near the four foot point. Other than those trees, the trail was mostly clear of obstructions. We went off trail once, just to see where it led, but the thorny brush discouraged us from traveling too far into the woods.

You’ve learned well, grasshopper

It was a hike, not a run, but my son attacked the steep sections like an ultrarunner. He said he prefers hiking to trail running, and I’m good with that. With the rate he’s growing and the speed he already possesses, I know I’d have trouble keeping up with him. We’ll probably head to Stillwell Woods next time so he can get a bigger challenge. There are some sections on Stillwell’s trails that make Trailview’s tough climbs look mighty easy.

Bugs, sun, hiking and running

On July 7, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Mislead by the map, much more to the east

Yesterday’s activity (Stillwell Woods hike): 2.2 miles
Today’s run (street): 4.4 miles

Surprise! It’s hot in July

Despite the popular idiom, it really is the heat (but the humidity doesn’t help). People talk about the heat like it’s some sort of unusual phenomenon, but every July it’s just like this. Today’s temperature should get close to 100° F, so I got outside relatively early. Even at 7:50 AM, the thermometer was edging towards 80°.

Yesterday was equally hot, so after a morning of working from home, my son and I headed over to Stillwell Woods for a hike. A midday hike on a hot summer’s day may sound like torture, but we knew that the tree canopy would keep the sun off our heads. For the most part, that was true, but we didn’t count on the clouds of bugs that we encountered as we moved deeper into woods.

Despite the heat, gnats and occasional hard climbs, we had a great time looking for the elusive Ewok Forest section on Stillwell. I used Endomondo to record our hike and I referred to its real-time map a few times to help locate our position. The simple graphics on the map led me to believe that we were further east into the woods than we really were, so we never reached our intended destination.

My son did a great job tracking our direction and, when were ready to go, his compass skills led us straight back to our stating point. We headed home and cooled off in the pool with my wife and daughter. Our serenity was interrupted when a town worker in a lift truck surprised us by swinging over the tree line to trim around some adjacent telephone lines. Surprise!

I took it very easy on this morning’s run. I briefly considered turning off the GPS so that I wouldn’t track my pace. I tend to be self-competitive when I know I’m being recorded and I didn’t want to move too fast in increasingly warm conditions. I ended up recording it, but I didn’t look at my time until the end.

I needed to keep reminding myself that pace didn’t matter, and that this workout was just about maintenance miles on an extremely hot and humid morning. The run never felt hard but I was glad to end it. I’m pleased that I put in a few miles today and I’ll look forward to some easier activities in the pool this afternoon. Before too long, the T-storms will be here to finally cool things off.

Impromptu stop at Trailview

On February 24, 2012 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Today’s run (treadmill): 30 minutes

The areas west and north of NYC got hit with snowy weather this morning, but Long Island only got rain. Still, that was enough to keep me indoors on the treadmill. I wasn’t sure how strong I’d feel because, on top of yesterday morning’s workout, I did an impromptu hike in the afternoon.

It turned out that all of yesterday’s activities must have worked to my advantage. I managed a brisk progressive speed run and covered the last couple of minutes at an 8:00 pace. Or maybe it was just returning to caffeinated coffee.

My hike was at nearby Trailview State Park, where my son and I decided to stop on a whim. I’d run the Trailview paths a few weeks ago and followed the bike path. My son and I chose the hiking path yesterday just to see where it went. We encountered a few steep sections where roots served both as obstructions and as steps to the higher ground. We took on each challenge with hard charges up every hill.

We weren’t familiar with the hiking path, but after 20 minutes we’d reached a high point where we could look down on a road that separated us from Stillwell Woods. There were a fair number of hikers and a few runners on the trail, and we watched a couple run down to street level so we could see where path actually ended.

Our hike back was a little easier because we’d done most of the climbing on the way out. There were still some sharp inclines and my son told me he preferred uphills to downhills. We decided to head to Stillwell at another time so he could experience the joys of the Snake Pit and the Uh-Oh trail.

I’m not counting yesterday’s hike in my weekly mileage, but we probably covered more than two miles of changeable terrain on our hike. With today’s treadmill run and whatever I can cover over the weekend, this will be my highest mileage week in 2012. The seven miles I ran on Wednesday helps that number. However, I’m not sure if I’ll try another long run this weekend. Building my base is important, but I also want to avoid injuries.

Morning at Stillwell and Caleb Smith at noon

On May 8, 2011 By Emerging Runner2 Comments

Today’s run (Stillwell Woods): 4.25 miles

Today is Mother’s Day and it’s been busy. I wanted to get going early but due to some ad hoc celebrating, I didn’t get out the door at 7:00 as I’d planned. By 8:15 I was at the trail head at Stillwell Woods with temperatures in the low 50’s and bright sun. The holiday had kept most people at home. While I love company on the trails, I was glad to have the place more or less to myself. I saw some bikers staging in the lot but didn’t encounter anyone but hikers during my run.

The woods were alive with birds, rabbits and other creatures and the humidity was so low I didn’t even break a sweat until I’d completed my second mile. I wasn’t paying attention to my pace but knew I was moving well and I managed get through the hills without much trouble. Due to our tight schedule I kept the run to around 40 minutes but that was sufficient for my needs. My knee is much better at this point but I still feel some soreness when I go from sitting to walking. Happily this disappears with activity and I don’t experience any pain when I’m running. Keeping my distances under five miles this weekend was a good move. I’ll look to add more distance next weekend.

Things were ducky on the lake at Caleb Smith

One of our Mother’s Day activities today involved a return to Caleb Smith Park Preserve in Smithtown, NY. We like this park a lot. It has well groomed and well marked trails, good access to its lake and a small but interesting nature museum. Four miles of trail running and then some hiking at Caleb Smith made for an active day. Later we spent some time setting up umbrellas and furniture in the pool area, providing an unexpected but welcomed upper-body workout.

Running and hiking make a great combination

On April 3, 2010 By Emerging RunnerLeave a comment

Caleb Smith State Park has 543 acres of trails and wetlands

Today’s run (street): 4.6 miles at 9:07/mile

I’m nearing the end of my vacation so we jammed a lot of activities into the day. My kids are happier because they don’t return to school until next Wednesday. It’s been a great week and there’s still another day left before I have to head back to the office. After yesterday’s moderate workout at the park I decided to only do a 4 mile run this morning because we planned to go for a hike a little later. I headed over to neighborhood #2 where I covered about three miles and finished up back in my own neighborhood after completing a total of 4.6. Conditions were near perfect, 44 degrees and dry, and I dressed correctly. I pushed my pace a little more than I have been doing and was not disappointed to average 9:07 per mile.

A few hours later we headed to Caleb Smith State Park in Smithtown, a 543 acre preserve with groomed, well marked trails. The park is beautiful, featuring ponds and streams, with lots of small side paths that take you over wooden bridges. We saw lots of interesting trees and plants and we even saw a snake. The biggest surprise for me wasn’t seeing the snake in the woods, it was the fact that my kids wanted to pose next to it for a picture. There are a number of trails to follow. A circuit that includes the yellow and blue trails is 2.25 miles. I’d like to do a couple of laps around that course sometime.

I’m not sure how I’ll finish my vacation in terms of running but I think a trail run would be the best choice tomorrow with temperatures in the low 70’s expected. I’m not sure if I should head to Stillwell, Muttontown or Bethpage but either way I’d be making a great choice.