Month: November 2024

The Trail Regulars

I have been fortunate to have lived near several great bike/walk/run paths as an adult.  In my early running days, I loved running on the Green Bay Trail in Highland Park, Illinois.  I would typically run this trail from Highland Park five miles out to Winnetka and then return home.  A relocation to the Western suburbs of Chicago presented me with the option of running on the Great Western Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path.  And I have spent more than half of my 35 years running at the local Hickory Creek Nature/Forest preserve paths and the Old Plank Road Trail (aka Old Plank Trail or OPT), where I see lots of locals also out enjoying the paths.

Over those many miles and years, I have seen quite a few faces over and over again.  I call these people “regulars,” and even though I may not know them by name, we are pretty familiar with each other.  Sometimes I will have a brief conversation with them, learn their name, and find out their reason for being out on the trail, but most times we just pass by with a nod or a wave.  I thought that I might highlight a few, some I haven’t seen in a long time, and some fairly new.  So, in no particular order, here are some of The Regulars.

Shirtless Tall Guy – One of the more recent regulars is a tall, fit guy in his 30s who runs shirtless, loping along at a relaxed pace, but I have seen him running fast on occasion as well.  We usually give a brief wave when we pass each other, acknowledging the fact that we are always out on the trail pounding the pavement.  I’m not sure if he runs to compete, or just runs for the pleasure of it.  I envy his effortless-looking gait and often think that he would be a great distance runner if he wasn’t already.

Buford Pusser – In the 70s there was a movie called Walking Tall, telling the tale of a Southern sheriff who meted out justice by carrying a rather sturdy baseball bat-sized stick.  There’s a local guy who walks the trail who reminded me of that character.  I hadn’t seen ol’ Buford on the trail in quite a while, but recently there he was, walking along and carrying the four-foot-long thick dowel rod that he carries like he’s going to have to fend off a wolf pack attack.  I usually run by this guy with caution, but I don’t fear him.

Wrong Side Wheelchair Lady – I encounter this lady all the time in the hilly nature preserve trail and she’s always on the wrong side of the trail.  She used to have a friend who would walk along with her but I haven’t seen her friend in a long time.  Lately, she has been singing classic rock songs at the top of her lungs while pushing herself up the hills.  I’d probably be more friendly to her if she wasn’t always on the wrong side of the trail.

Baby Jogger Mom – This redhead with a wolf tattoo on her back shoulder used to push her newborn in a stroller in the preserve and I would see her nearly every run.  Then she disappeared for a while, later to return with a double-wide stroller and two kids!  But she seems to be fading quickly from the ranks of the regulars, as I haven’t seen her in quite a while.

Mario! – A long-time runner, this guy reminds me of Mario from the arcade game.  He’s been out there as long as I have, and we just keep putting in the miles.

Will County Forest Preserve Lady – An older lady who wears a pullover-type top emblazoned with the logo of the forest preserve is one of the older regulars on the trail.  A taller, thinner lady who I see often on the Old Plank Trail in Frankfort.  There used to be a trail sentinel program run by the forest preserve district, so maybe she wears the pullover from that.  Not sure.

Bill – Mostly a midday runner like myself, I encountered this local guy quite often, usually crossing the railroad tracks where the make-shift path gets me into the nature preserve.  He was always friendly, and at one of the crossings, I took a moment to chat him up.  He said his name was Bill and that he runs about four miles nearly every day.  He doesn’t race and thinks the distances I run are crazy.  But anyway, he’s a nice guy.

Curly-headed Guy – I used to see this curly-headed guy all the time running on the OPT and one day we stopped at a road crossing together and I introduced myself.  He was wearing an Ironman visor and I had to at least say hello to a fellow Ironman.  Turns out his name is Charlie and we are now good friends and follow each other on Facebook.  He tends to ride more than run nowadays, but we are always joking about wanting to be each other when we grow up.

Bike Pusher Guy – I have passed people on bikes while running in the past, and although the speed needed to do that has long left me, but occasionally I come upon Bike Pusher Guy.  This guy is older than me and doesn’t ride his bike very fast, and he always hops off and pushes it up the hills.  Friendly guy, and we see each other often.

Me – I guess I’m a trail regular as well.  I often wonder what others think of me as I jog by huffing and puffing in my sweaty clothes.  Well, if you become a regular make sure to say hello to me because I’m always up for a chat.

Do you have any trail regulars where you run?

2024 Paleozoic Trail Runs – Silurian Fall II 25K Race Report

I have done the spring version of this 25K before, and since I opted to not burden myself at Tunnel Hill 100 with another 100-mile attempt this year, I decided to give the fall version a go.  And I am happy that I did!  We had a cool and overcast morning for the race, with perfect trail conditions, and seeing that the fall version is run at a different course, I found this one to be a lot less technically challenging.  That’s not to say this was easy – it had nearly 1500 feet of elevation!  Lots of rolling hills, and a few steep enough to force me to walk, but the day turned out great for me.

My faithful sidekick/super sherpa/wife Kari and I got there way earlier than necessary, but were glad to do so to get a prime parking spot as the location had very few and we didn’t want to have to find the second and third parking option and have to walk.  We had lots of fun people-watching and chatting about the other racer’s prerace routines.

I had made a race morning decision to wear my more comfortable road shoes instead of my trail shoes, based on the race director’s email stating that the course was in great condition.  I also wore my gaiters to keep the little rocks, sticks, leaves, and other trail junk out of my shoes.  I was looking around and it seemed that I was the only one that opted for them.  I was so glad that I did.  

At the start of the race, a short grassy section that led to the path.

The 50K started at 8:30 and my race started at 9:30.  This course is much more crowded with other patrons, but they weren’t too bad and gave us plenty of room.  My plan was to not go out too fast and have to suffer in the later miles, but of course, I bolted out of the gate.  It wasn’t long before I found myself in no-man’s-land once again, not quite with the lead pack and way ahead of the back-of-the-packers.  Doesn’t matter what length of race I do, I find myself in this spot every time.

There was a giant hill that I walked just before mile 2 and I got passed by a couple of other runners, but walking calmed me down and I settled into a more appropriate pace.  The hills kept coming and I just kept pushing on. 

That’s a lot of hills.

The 50K leader was shirtless and I saw him around my 5-mile mark and knew that I would definitely see him again.  It wasn’t long after that when I saw the first 25K leader coming back at me from the turnaround, and she was flying!  She did eventually win the race, a first for the race director, which he was super excited for.

As I got closer to the turnaround myself, I was marveling at how good a gel would make me feel.  Every 30 minutes is when I choke down the 100-calorie syrupy stuff, and I was finding myself looking at my watch 15 minutes after each one wondering how much longer to the next.  I finally caught a guy that I had been slowly reeling in, but he would jog the hills and I would walk them and have to work at pulling him back in again.  We arrived at the turnaround aid station at the same time.  I had already had the lid off of my 21-ounce water bottle and had it refilled with another 21 ounces.  I’m glad that I opted for the bigger bottle this time instead of the 12-ounce handheld bottles I used in the spring race.  I was staying on top of hydration.

After the turn, I found my legs and started running at a pretty good clip.  This portion would be downhill for a while, and I tried to take advantage of that.  I could see the competition coming at me for the first time and I was glad I had a good lead. 

I have to give a shout-out to the large group of spectators who greeted us when we went out and came back on the course around the middle section.  It was a big pick-me-up.

The next runner ahead of me was another one that I had tried to reel in from the start.  She had passed me within the first 1/2-mile of the race and looked strong, but by mile 11 she clearly had run into a wall.  I passed her and put some distance on her.  I didn’t think that I was in the top ten at this point, but gaining a spot gave me some motivation to keep chasing others.  The problem was, there weren’t any ahead of me that I could see!  

With about 2.5 miles to go, we hit the last big hill and I was passed by another guy.  Great, I had just gained a spot and now I was losing one.  I tried to match pace with the guy, but he was younger and stronger.  And to add insult to injury, the race director informed us at the awards that he had raced the RDs fall Lakefront 50K the week before.  Tip of the running visor to him.

Once up the big hill it was flat and I summoned the energy I had left to push a little bit.  I could hear the quick footsteps rapidly approaching me from behind and of course, it was the 50K finisher passing me in the final mile.  It has happened twice now to me and I hate it!  Oh well, another tip of the running visor to the shirtless 50K winner, whose overall 50K time was nearly a half-hour faster than my Chicago Marathon time.  Actually, the second-place 50K finisher was also faster than my CM time.  Crazy kids.  Tip of the running visor to both of them.

As I was dealing with that defeat, the sounds of more footsteps were approaching, and I was passed by a woman who clearly was kicking to the finish.  I tried to keep pace with her but she was slowly pulling away (tip of the visor to her-lol).  We emerged relatively close from the trail and onto the grass to do a parade lap of the park to the finish and she hit the afterburners, beating me by 15 seconds.  I knew that I couldn’t catch her, but I also knew that the clock was ticking rapidly to the 2:20 mark and I gave it my best to be sub-2:20, but my official time put me two seconds over it.  My watch time shows 2:19:38, but it paused while I was refilling my water bottle.  Seeing that I had predicted a 2:40 finish when I signed up for the race, and then thinking I had a good chance to go sub-2:30, to get 2:20:02 was a huge surprise that I will proudly take as a new PR.  

All in all, it was a great day and a great performance for me.  I might have to keep this one on the calendar for next year!

The Value of Course Recon

With one race left on the calendar this year, I decided to do a little course reconnaissance seeing that I had not run this particular race before.  I have been on the trails in this area, but it was a long time ago, and I felt it might be a good idea to see what I had gotten myself into.

The race is the Paleozoic Trail Runs – Silurian Fall II 25K held in Palos Park, Illinois in the Cook County Forest Preserve District commonly called Swallow Cliff.  If you have followed my blog you will note that I have done the spring version of this race before, three times actually, but that course is in a different location.

Last week I went out to find the start/finish area and ran from the start to about 4 miles out before turning around.  The trip paid off because I took a couple of wrong turns and had to double back to get back on course.  But the trail was nowhere near as technical as the spring course is.  There was about 540 feet of climbing for the portion I ran and the two hills were definitely steep enough to warrant walking them.  The trail was in pretty good shape, with good footing.  I ended up running eight miles in about 1:15, so I was pleased with my speed and effort.

Last Saturday, Kari and I went back to the trail to walk the second part of the trail, which I hadn’t gotten a chance to run last time.  It was also in good condition with very few technical aspects to it.  There were 530 feet of climbing in this section, so overall, that will be the challenge that awaits me.  Tackle the hills with the appropriate effort, and push pace on the flats and downhills. 

Tried to capture the type of trail and the rolling hills of the course.

 

The course.

 

Today I ran one final 8-mile run near home at a comfortably hard pace and held an 8:32 average pace, finishing in 1:08.  I was pretty gassed after that, so I may have to dial back my expectations just a little on race day.  Plus the hills will slow me down somewhat.  The race website asks you to submit a predicted finish time, and based on my three previous attempts at the spring version of this 25K, I estimated 2:40, but I think I have a good chance to be under 2:30 and maybe closer to 2:20.  At least now I know what to expect from the course and the pace I have been running lately.  I’m looking forward to race day.

If you are interested in running or would like more info about this race, here’s the website:  Paleozoic Trail Run – Silurian Fall II