Training Log Archive: kissy

I went back to Great Falls with a plan to park near the entrance and run to the course start on trails, but I was foiled again. Now they have "No Parking" signs all around that entrance. So, I went with my backup plan, which was to do Alex Merka's course at Lake Needwood. This time, I was prepared!

And that all worked fine, except that I was way overdressed! My original plan was to just do #1 - #7, and that's what I ended up doing. I fleetingly thought about doing the whole thing (6.1k) but the northern half of the course didn't look like it went through very interesting terrain. Plus, I was very hot.

I had no trouble with the navigation, and the red ribbons were hung so high that I could see them quite easily. The only thing that felt kind of weird was that since the woods were so open, I could be seen running in the woods from many of the nearby trails, and I was getting some strange looks. I was almost waiting for someone to ask me if I was orienteering.

It felt so good to be out in the woods again. And the park was packed with not much evidence of face masks. I stopped by a Starbucks in a Safeway on my way home, and that whole process has gotten much more complicated. I had to remember to wear my mask, but don't touch the outside of it. The face recognition on my phone doesn't work with a mask on, so I muddled through signing in to the Starbucks app. Then the barrista wasn't wearing gloves, but he did wash his hands before fixing my iced tea, so that was good. But then he put the lid on, touching the sipping opening, so I asked for another lid, which he again touched the sipping part on. So I just reached over and got my own. By then, I was getting very claustrophobic under my mask, and just wanted to get out of there so I could take it off. I can't wait until we're back to the simple, normal world where you don't have to think as much.

C • Great Falls parking 16

Event: Flying Pig XXIV / 2020 USA Nationals - POSTPONED