Mt. Si Hike

Today was long run day...I've been craving a hike, though, and since I'm in the "off season" (kinda, I mean if there really is such a thing, and in our house there isn't, but whatever, it was an excuse to go to the mountains today so I'm going with it...), I decided to hit the trail instead of the road. I haven't hiked in over 2 years (!) and my hiking boots were a little mad about the neglect. They felt great when I put them on, there were hot spots on my feet at the top of the trail and at least 4 blisters by the time I was done. But it was worth it. It was foggy and cold when we got up this morning, but I trusted the "it will burn off" forecast and, as Seujan was planning her 13 mile run route from home and fueling up, I grabbed my pack and headed for North Bend and Mt. Si.

I stopped for gas in North Bend, just a few miles from the trail, and about froze when I got out of the car...but I was committed (albeit in my shorts with no tights or sweats in the car). It was a brisk start, but within 10 minutes of starting to hike, I ditched the stocking hat and gloves and was happy to be in shorts. Warming up wasn't a problem as the trail was (as usual) well travelled, and my competitive hiking road rage kicked in immediately. I started picking off hikers and dogs from the get-go, and didn't stop till I hit the top of the trail--and never got passed, either (so what if other hikers had gray hair and hiked in corderoy pants and jeans, I still dropped 'em!). My GPS didn't agree with the signs or my HR/perceived pace, so I'm going with the signs: 4 miles up (close to 4,000 ft. gain) and 4 miles back. It was breezy and cool at the top, so I barely stopped for some Perpetuem and a quick glace at the view, and headed right back down...lots more hikers on the way up as I was descending. During my few hours on the trail, I saw at least 2 ipods, a person talking on the phone, and somebody who appeared to be text messaging...nothing like getting away from it all in the nice quiet forest. Wackos.

Anyway, it was a great hike and exactly how I wanted to spend the morning...still not sure if I can count this as my long run (I was planning to run 10-11 miles today) or if I need to do a long one on Monday morning...gonna take tomorrow as a rest day and see how I feel on Monday. My hip and hamstring have been extremely argumentative and I'm trying to make it to the Seattle Half in 4 weeks without falling apart. Might be time to go back to PT...

Mt. Si Hike:

Up: 4 miles, 1:23:16, Avg HR = 142
Down: 4 miles, 1:20, Avg HR = 89
Total: 2:43