This weekend didn’t go totally as planned. Originally, I thought I’d race the Crossroad Clash cyclocross race, but Sunday morning, I was there and ready, and no other women showed up. With the course markings being a bit vague and the course heavy on the barriers, I didn’t really feel motivated to race the dudes considering my current training priorities (more on that in a second). I’m reasonably certain that the double-up Memphis Velo/Outdoors Inc. Cyclocross races should be different as far as attendance since the Omnium Prize has now grown to $250 for the top lady of the weekend (P.S. If anyone else steps forward with a cash donation, there will be a second place award as well).
Instead, I changed clothes and headed off on a pretty intense run workout. If you haven’t followed along, I’m in the process of cramming for the LOViT Marathon on December 6th. I’m doing my best to strike a balance between training my ass off and not getting injured, and I’ve basically come up with my own training program that’s building up long run distance with a few speed/interval workouts sprinkled on top. Since I don’t have any natural rock in town, and Arkansas is heavy on rock, I’ve taken to running the overgrown/intermittently loose & deep gravel of the unfinished greenline that runs behind my house. Even though it’s flat, I feel like it’s pretty good for building up some lower leg strength and balance. This week, I’ll also be testing my legs at the Syllamo Trails with some running/hiking/trail work. I’m going to take this along as well… just in case.
Speaking of Syllamo, after about a year of talking, planning, and paperwork, what started as a desperate email plea to IMBA for help rehabilitating the Syllamo Trails has grown in to this: Friends of the Syllamo Trail. This week, there’s a 6-person work crew (courtesy of the Walton Foundation) clearing the Bad Branch (red) trail, the longest of the trails in the system that’s also been the worst as far as overgrowth and deadfall. In addition to that, sometime after Christmas, there will be a crew of inmates coming from Calico Rock prison to continue the clearing and tread repair. Good things are happening out there, and I’m excited to see the system being slowly turned back into its former glory.
One thing I realized about making a trip over to do some foot-based training is that I can check out the Sylamore Creek Trail. It’s a foot traffic only trail, and, based on the small section I hiked a while back, you wouldn’t even want to attempt riding a mountain bike on it. It’s been a nice break from bike training so far, though I’m looking forward to getting this initial bit of conditioning over with so I can get slightly closer to the volume I’m used to.