LONG RUN WITH 11x2-MIN PICKUPS
We were in Shasta Lake, CA for a family reunion. Luckily, for me, right near the ranch where we stayed, was the Sacramento River Trail that went for 11 miles in one direction to Redding. I got up early before everyone else was awake and went out on my run.
The River Trail is beautiful, but in the early morning by yourself it's also a bit creepy with constant rustling of wildlife in the bushes literally every minute. I felt way way sluggish the first half of the run. I don't know if it was the long travel affecting my legs or what. But I just had zero zip. So on the turnaround I decided to mix in some speed and see if that would flush out the lethargy. After one or two pickups of two minutes they finally started to feel good, and soon I was running low 5:00 pace on the pickups.
One the second pickup I turned a corner and there was a coyote just sitting in the middle of the trail about 100 meters ahead. I clapped my hands loudly and yelled and he just looked at me. There was no way around either; the river was on one side and a 15-foot cliff on the other. Coyotes are pretty harmless, but can fight if they feel cornered. Well with nowhere to go but the trail I didn't want to sneak by him, so I waited him out 10 minutes and he finally went up trail a bit and into some bushes. I looked into the bushes as I cautiously went by and he was glaring right at me. Most of the other wildlife was jack-rabbits and tons of birds. There were some swans out on the river too, luckily no signs of bears.
In all I did 11 pickups ranging from 4:50s to 5:20s (except first two were closer to 5:30).
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