After my 18 miler this weekend, my family wanted to go for a drive. As a child, I spent many Saturdays and/or Sundays doing this type of thing- drive somewhere- get out of the car, explore, drive back.
One of the perks of living in the Pacific Northwest is that in the winter, when it's not raining, there are plenty of places like this to go see.
This spot is just a short drive from our home.
We've driven through it many times, but never have really gotten out of the car there, until today.
Spill off from Loon Lake - Mill Creek.
A little overhang- the boys liked playing in their "cave" .
We found a trail down to the creek and carefully made our way there.
We couldn't quite get to the bottom today with the boys because the rocks were too slippery.
Another little "cave" perfect for the kids ^.
The campground is open only in summer, but you can park outside and walk in, like we did.
It's a popular lake for waterskiing, jet skiiing and the like- but in winter there is perfect isolation.
It's a natural lake that has sand trucked in to form a beach. In the winter, they push the sand up to keep it from washing out or getting nasty with debris.
My oldest is turning into a fine hiker !
The boys were excited to find a salamander ^ and a small playground .
It was a nice excursion for us all and I can't wait to get back as the weather gets even better. :)
****
A few thoughts I processed while running this week:
Why does running 18 miles seem so hard? A few miles later...
Oh yeah. I am running the day before my long run nowadays. (revelation) I ran 10 yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that...
I think this is what it is supposed to feel like. Maybe.
But could I do 22?
I need to tweak my meal menu calendar. Week 4 stinks.
Maybe I should tweak my training plan so that I can have fresher legs for a long run.
Maybe I should leave it alone and see if I survive the 12/22 combo I have in a few weeks.
That Nuun tasted like flat soda. Not bad, but I bet orange-ginger is better. =D
According to the
McMillan calculator, to run a 3:25:00 marathon, one should be able to run 6:04 for the mile. For a 3:15:00, 5:46, for a 3:05:00, 5:28.
I think I counted 30 elk in that herd at the end of the road! That's the most I've ever seen.
I don't think I like the Adistar Salvations so much any more. They feel stiff.
I am so glad I bought that headlamp.
I hope it's not going to give me a breakout on my forehead.
I might have to ease up on blogging. :( I think it's driving my family nuts.
I am so blessed to have my family.
