About every three weeks in the training program, there is a drop back week. It's meant to give your legs a rest from continually building a mileage base while keeping you in the mode of running long distances. This Saturday with only a 9 miler to complete, we thought it'd be a walk in the park.
There was one slight hurdle in our running plans. We were on vacation in Fitchburg for the annual Darcy Open, so we needed to map out a new route. After planning out a run in Ashburnham, we decided it was too far from the hotel and that we'd try to find something closer.
Upon checking in, I asked the hotel front desk assistant if she had any suggestions on where we might run. To my surprise, she said "yes, we have a nice loop." In fact, she offered to get me a card that they took the time to print up with the route highlighted on one side and directions on the other. All joking aside, she handed me a piece of cardboard with a line drawn showing a path exiting the hotel, traveling a few miles down the main road (50mph speed limit, no shoulders, very curvy), and at the end, you presumably cross the street and run back to the hotel. The only part of the whole situation that made sense to me was the fine print on the card, "the hotel assumes no liability for injuries that may occur."
After a few scary mental images of diving into the woods to avoid oncoming traffic, Max and I decided to run in the Leominster State Forest which was not all that far from the hotel either. It seemed safer to run through scenic hiking trails rather than get hit by a speeding car. Excited about our decision, we hopped in the Jeep and drove down the road to the park bright and early on Saturday morning - again to beat the extreme heat and humidity that has taken over the area this summer.
We arrived at the forest and parked in a dirt pit on the side of the road. The place looked desolate with the main entrance closed off and not another human in sight. I was a bit nervous about how deserted this place was, but Max assured me that no humans OR bears would be coming after me. With that, we ran into the dense forest.
At first, the run was a bit exciting. We ran past an empty swimming hole on the left and a swamplike area on the right. Once we hit the first trail, shrubs and roots crowded the path making me feel like GI Jane watching every step. The path got a bit hilly, and softball sized rocks mixed in with the overgrown weeds and tree roots.
Within a few minutes, I realized that the biggest threat was not a bear - it was a deer fly! Swarms of bugs, deer flies, mosquitos, and all of their little flying friends began to circle us and buzz in our ears. I quickly regretted leaving the hotel without bug spray and tried to wave my hands around to annoy the bugs enough to make them leave. I clearly underestimated their persisitence. In fact, it got so bad that Max grabbed a branch and started waving it around in front of him like a giant fly swatter. He made multiple comments about how lucky I am to have the natural protection of a pony tail to scare the bugs away - but let me tell you, it did nothing for my arms and legs!
After being "trapped" in the forest for 5 miles, we finally found a way out onto a paved road in the middle of a farm. At this point, we were still miles from the car, but at least we were out of the swamp! We began running past the scattered rustic looking houses and uphill. To our surprise, the next mile was ALL uphill. The road would twist and turn, but there was no relief in sight. Luckily, the hills did finally stop... I had confidence this would happen at some point!
Sticky, sweaty, covered in muck from the forest and multiple bug bites, we hopped back in the Jeep and drove back to the hotel...
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/Leominster.gif
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