A Little Exploring

When I went to Boundary Bay Brewery to watch the Seahawks play against the Falcons (don't worry it's the last time I'll mention it) I met a couple who are big into running.  We cheered and moaned in those three hours but we also chatted about the local running and triathlon clubs.  They told me that I needed to head down to the Klicks running store and introduce myself to the owners.  A couple of days later I made my way downtown and had a great conversation with those guys.  Since I'm pinching pennies, I restrained myself from getting new gear.  Though I did purchase a map of the Chuckanut and Blanchard Forest trails. 

The Fragrance Lake 20k ( http://www.bellinghamtrail.com/p/fragrance-lake-10k20k.html ) is coming up on Feb. 17 and I felt the need to orient myself in that area.  Yesterday afternoon I drove out to the Arroya Park off Old Samish Way to start my exploring.  It's a beautiful area with a trail winding along the Chuckanut Creek with a wooden bride that leads into the northern part of the trail system.

Start-Arroyo Park - Hemlock Tr. - N. Lost Lake Tr. - Madrona Crest - Hemlock Tr. - Arroyo Park

Once across the creek I found myself on Hemlock Trail which will travel all the way to Cedar Lake and Pine lake but I'll save that route for another day.  I got off Hemlock and headed Southwest onto N. Lost Lake Tr. passing trees covered in heavy moss and a body of water that had huge sheets of ice covering it.  There was snow in the shadowy areas also.  I didn't want to turn this jog into a super adventure because the light was waning so I turned north onto Madrona Crest.

 

Madrona Crest

Coming down Madrona Crest my right IT band started to get a little tender.  I haven't had any problems with my knees lately so I was little concerned.  My pace definitely slowed even though I was going downhill.  The compression was starting to really inflame my knee.  Once I got back on Hemlock Tr. I took a few stops to capture how beautiful this area is.

 

Ferns Galore!

Depending on how wet this weekend and how my knee feels I'd like to follow the Fragrance Lake 20k route to get a feel for it so I don't take a wrong turn during the race.   Maybe I'll even get a chance to join in with some others.  Solo running is great for focus and training but after a few hours I wouldn't mind chatting with someone.  Until the next time, go do something neat.