New 10 mile run

A new 10 mile run!

 

 Sunday, January 10, 2016- So because of the overwhelmingly tough time people have to race to just register for the Run for the Brewery race next weekend. Karol  Kalin-Holmes started a new option this year, it was a great run NOT a race! BUT it was great, there was a small fee to run with the group, but she provided water, Gatorade and a few snacks at the turnaround point  (about 4. 5 miles through the run) And in my case she made sure that my dog Scout had something to do some extra carbo loading on there, not sure how she did it but she did! Check this out:

 

This reminded me of the movie you've got mail when Tom hanks character says his dog likes to eat bits and pieces of bagels and pizza off the sidewalk but he prefers to buy his!

Karol put in the perfect  weather  and apparently told the powers that be to hold the rain off until the next day, she had volunteers to help guide people unfamiliar with the course.  And at intersections that were or could have been dangerous otherwise…..although as I was rounding out my 10 miles I swear I felt a few raindrops that amounted to nothing unless there was a breeze that stirred up a little dirt or water from somewhere else!

As Scout and I started early we came across a lot of people walking their dogs or just out for a walk on their own or with a friend so of course Scout had to stop and sniff a few butts- of the canine kind! He had to check out all of his surroundings  and let the world know he was there with his bellowing howls! Did you hear him howl, China called and asked me to keep him quiet as we were running!

But he loves running the Greenway “trails” even though they are paved trails, they have the benefit of the hills and safe cross walks that the walker, runner or cyclists control by just walking through  the scensors  I mean how awesome is that!.....Scout likes the control of doing that, and so do I….although you still have to proceed  with caution as some drivers will not pay attention to the flashing lights that are provided for our safety!....

We started running there last year, the end of last year and we vow to be back.

Along the way we saw someone along the side of the trailway, off  to side a bit, who obviously couldn’t handle the hills….they are obviously not a part of the Selden Hills group! They were just lying there….oh don’t worry it was just an old scarecrow that’s been there since we started running there! Check this out:

Obviously this course is not for the faint of heart and one should proceed with caution! It runs from Stony Brook to Pt Jeff, with nature surrounding you most of the way. When you leave the train station within the first mile you have a smallish hill leading you to the entrance of the parking lot to the Greenway Trailways!.....the trailway is paved and has a lot of turns and hills but very animal friendly and people friendly, if nothing else I was happy that Karole and her crew introduced us to the trail way, although we would rather actual trails than pavement, I  have to add if one chooses one can opt to go off the pavement and hit the actual trails right next to the paved trails…….but we stuck to the paved way for the 10 mile run!

When we got to about  8 and 9 mile point we started running with the faster runners who had caught up with us as we started a good half hour or so before hand…….and check it out I ended up running FOUR PAWS ahead of some of LI’s fast runner s to include Bill Flemming and Jim Murray, without Scout tethered to me I would have never been able to keep the pace to run FOUR PAWS ahead….ok, Scout was the one ahead of us all I was in line with them but once again……how often can I even come close to that claim!

I may have been most improved runner back in 2010,but since then in 2015 I lost two of my senior dogs  who motivated me to run and run well and trained me. So without my Skyler and Sandy I’ve slowed down and Scout  and Liberty are trying to get me back to my running performance that I once had…..give me some time!

Karol and her crew collected a small fee for the run- hey she provided water  and cupcakes and beer at the end! And plenty of volunteers to help the runners be safe and sound!.......Where it truly counted too!......And therefore was able to collect a few hundred dollars for Kent Animal Shelter (where Scout and Liberty- my dogs came from) and I believe one local shelter…..what a heart we have in our club- I guess Scout was the poster dog for the day for the run, or as someone called him the mascot- he would be proud to be the “mascot” next year as well……

Just a note Kent is undergoing some tough times as they try to rebuild the facility to be more environmentally nice and nicer for the dogs, the Pine Barrens Assoc. is giving them trouble in rebuilding, no one else but them they have all other permission but cannot rebuild because of the opposition from one organization- the plans are VERY MUCH SO ENVIRONMENTALLY sound! So  maybe if we can help them raise enough money that money can do the talking for the Pine Barrens and the comfortable living conditions of those cats and dogs  awaiting their new homes! You can find out more about this at www.kentanimalshelter.com

We finished the last ½ mile or so on the Stony Brook campus, crossing over the railroad tracks and running alongside the ball fields……going out wasn’t bad coming back there was  a slight incline to run coming  back to the station!

But once we finished we went across the street to THE BENCH where there was water, Gatorade, CUPCAKES ( I had to keep Scout away from that table because he wanted those cupcakes, which in this persons opinion will put the cupcakes at the end of the Aspire Run to SHAME!- no offense Glen!- but these were homemade to begin with and they had happy face, they had Nutella (Fran- you missed these- I thought the Nutella would be calling you to run there), they had Oreo cupcakes which come to think of it are vegan- ok, junkfood vegan but nevertheless VEGAN!- YES OREOS are VEGAN people….but the sugar in thecupcakes truly is not good for dogs- ( I think our GLIRC resident Veternarian can vouch for this fact!)……although one cupcake may not have hurt Scout after 10 miles, so next year with Dr Monaco’s approval I will allow Scout a cupcake!.....Or have doggy cupcakes ready for him and those four legged runners that come one down……even if they only run part of the course- YES, I’m thinking of Dukey- or as I call him the Duke of Melville!..........If we can raise more money for Kent or another shelter  next year or even again this year,and we get more dogs to run- I’ll make the doggy cupcakes and get Dr Monaco’s approval of the recipe beforehand as well……another run this year or next year- have a set a challenge up for Karole or what?!?!?!

 

Oh I have to mention the app which I ran with…..called Walk for a Dog App…..it’s free to get and easy to use, you can run, walk, or ride your bike with the app…..you can use it with or without a dog…..and you can see your walk/ run/ or ride mapped out later……and it will give you how far you went and how long it took, but of course it’s not necessarily for runners so the info is limited……you can use other apps while using this one if you choose…..I’ve never listen to music while using this app because I tend to have my dog or dogs by my side and I like to talk to my dogs without yelling but I think listening to your tunes is easy enough! I mean if I can take a photo or go onto FB, I should certainly be able to listen to my music!