Spring-Like Trail Run And A Weird Little Cramp

   It's getting to the point where I can't wait for the weekend to arrive so I can get out there on the trails again. This weekend was no exception so, after a breaky of bagel, peanut butter and banana had somewhat digested, I headed off to Komoka Provincial Park.

My Komoka parking stub. "15"
and "53"---one's the year I was
born and the other is my
favourite number. I'll let you
figure out which is which...

   The temps were 3 or 4 degrees above freezing today which meant there was more mud than snow on the trails and it almost had that "Spring" feeling to it, which was pretty wonderful. Once again, there were lots of people and dogs out as well. They instituted a parking fee at Komoka back in September of last year and many people in London said they would never go there again. My experience, however, is that it actually seems busier than it did when parking was free. Weird mindset, sometimes!
   My plan for today was to run 7K. This had been my plan last week in Kains Woods but I had changed it to a 6K run when my quads acted up. This week I wanted to make sure I hit the mark. 
   

The parking lot gets you onto the trail a little closer to the eastern end of the park and that's the direction I headed in. Getting in 7K means a little back-and-forth action on the trails so when I hit the eastern end I simply turned around and headed back to the western end. At that point I still didn't have 7K in so I turned around and headed east again, for about a kilometer and a half, until I hit the 7K mark and then I started walking, Could easily have kept running but cramps and overdoing it seem to be an issue with me so I contented myself with walking. Next week, we'll check into the 8K...
   Did I mention cramps? Last year, the major issue I had with cramps was in the  evening after a trail run in the afternoon----godawful cramps in my thighs. The last two times out,

however, I've had an issue with cramping on the outside of my right ankle and lower shin. It hits just as I'm lowering myself into the driver's seat. Need to get out of the car in a hurry! Today, I leaned on my car, doing stretches and at one point I had my right leg dangling underneath me. The foot was pointed straight ahead but as the cramp took over, the toe slowly started to rotate off to the right. Very strange and uncomfortable. A fairly minimal amount of stretching alleviated the cramp enough so that I could get back into my car. I guess maybe the next time, I'll do a little post-run stretch routine (which I hear you're supposed to do anyway) in the hopes of avoiding some of this.
   

A little beaver action in this section
and lots more farther on. I know
nothing about beavers but I take
it to mean that Spring is on its
way! (if I'm wrong, don't tell me)

Once again, the screwshoes came in very handy today. Occasionally, if I'm coming down on a rock or a root, I'll feel the beginning of one of the screws coming through. Not in a painful way, but I can still feel it so I might need to come up with something to alleviate that---maybe a strip of hard plastic under my orthotics or something like that. They still work very well, however.
   My biggest issue these days is that I'm really only running once a week, on weekends. It just seems that I'm too tired by the time I get home from work to force myself out there, especially as it's still getting dark fairly early. Am hoping that the longer days will help with that cuz who wants to run on a treadmill?
   The CamelBak is still working wonderfully, as well. So nice for hydration not to be an issue! If anything, I probably need to go to it a little more often, especially if cramps are still a problem, which it looks like they are. And it's not even hot out!

Easier steps!L

View from the top of The Steps.