I had previously run this section in the opposite direction, for which most of the trail was well-marked (with the exception of the left turn on Alexander Avenue in Montclair). The eastbound direction was not as clearly blazed.
Once off the rail trail and heading uphill to Cedar Grove, I lost the trail for a bit, but knew that Ridge Road was dead ahead, so I kept moving onward until I got there. After a short stint on Ridge, the trail hooks through the woods past the reservoir as it continues uphill into Montclair. For a moment, when there were no yellow blazes in sight and it was a lot harder to figure out where to go. While searching for some yellow, my leg got wrapped up in a downed branch which took me down, lacerating my leg in the process.
I felt the blood trickling down, but refused to look at it. This was only the fourth mile and I was not going to get psyched out by the sight of a large wound with 12 miles to go.
Finally catching sight of a bit of yellow, I accidentally followed it to a link trail which used yellow with a black dot in the middle for its blazes. I did not notice the black dots initially, so I ended up at a trailhead in an unfamiliar spot. Thankfully, there was a map nearby and I got back on the main trail.
By the time of the turnaround in Brookdale Park, I was losing it. Low-8 miles became high-8 miles. Then 9s, finishing the run (back through those thick woods) with painful 10s and 11s.
If I am going to run NYC in a few weeks, I need to plan on a slow, slow race. But then, was that not the point when I first was offered the chance to do it?
No pressure, Daniel. Keep reminding yourself. No pressure.
No comments:
Post a Comment