Hiking in Mohonk (Day 1)

My husband and I have been talking forever about taking a drive to upstate NY and doing some hiking and camping. For the first time in a long time our schedules aligned and we decided to go up to near “Ellentown”, since he heard from friends it was very nice there.
After searching for campsites we found Sam Pryor Shawangunk Gateway Campground which is near the “Gunks”, the mountain area at the Shawangunks that is popular with rock climbers. We aren’t rock climbers but it appears that there are trails nearby in walking distance. We book it quickly worried that the sites will book up since it is one of the last weekends of summer.

View of gunks from campground

To check in to your campsite you must arrive between 8-10 am or after 2pm. We made a mad rush to get there before 10 am and we just made it in time.
The sites are semi private. They say you can put two tents on your site but we don’t think we could have put more than one on ours. They are kind of small and you have to pitch within the wood designated area.

After check in it didn’t take us too long to set up our tent. They provide a bear proof locker for your food and toiletries. There are composting toilets and a sink not too far from us but if you want a shower it is a hike and cost $3 in quarters.

We put our sunscreen and bug spray on and head off to whatever hike is ahead of us.
Following advice of the campsite we follow the connector trail that takes us up to the Mohonk Preserve office.

We stop in the vistors center, there is a line. We don’t feel like waiting and still really don’t know where we are going so just follow signs for a trail. Outside the trail there is a nice man who is collecting money for the Preserve. Hikers need to pay $15 for a day pass to hike the trails. You get a wristband to designate that you paid. He gives us some advice on what trails to try. We pay and start on the East Trapps Connector Trail. It is a stone path that connects you to the rock climbing cliffs and the other trails. We soon learn why the guy at the campsite called it the StairMaster.

Soon we get to a flat trail. Upon the advice of the gentleman at the trailhead we go right.

Well I go right, my husband goes up further to walk along the climbers. I feel like I will just get in the way so I continue to flat trail below, hoping we meet back up with each other at some point.

Up to the rock climbers

I walk alone for a little bit. I take in the view of the valley.

At some point the trail begins to curve and I get worried since still no Carlos. Send him a message that the trail is changing direction. I look back occasionally but still no sign. Eventually he meets up with me and we soon come to a cross roads. We must decide which direction we want to go. We decide to go toward the private resort to get a view of the lake on property. The resort shares trails with Mohonk reserve. Hikers can use the trails but are not allowed to use the resort specific amenities such as the water and resort porch (we did use their bathroom though!).
As we walk toward the resort we get a very nice view of the lake.

Map of the resort area and Mohonk Lake

We walk a little farther and we get a spectacular view of this resort in the sky.

We sit on a bench overlooking the lake to fuel up on some snacks. I enjoy this much needed break. We dream of splurging at some point and getting a room at the resort. We later find the cheapest room is $600 a night.
After our snacks we try to find the trail again to circle us around the resort. We aren’t sure we are going the correct way but eventually end up at the Copes Lookout Road and at Cope’s lookout where we enjoyed spectacular views for a few minutes.

We had the lookout to ourselves the whole entire time there. I wish we would have brought a lunch to share on the ledge. Truly spectacular views.
At this point we were turning back toward the way we came. There were a number of paths in the direction we needed to go but we stumbled upon this wooded path called Giants path. Many of the paths we were on were nicely manicured flat trails. Giants path was not. It was down hill with lots of large boulders, following the blue marks. I started to regret this path, even more so when we came these larger than life boulders and a seemingly dead end.

They couldn’t possibly expect us to traverse down this crevice? We evaluated the situation for a little while and Carlos attempted the path, talking to me as he descended. He was confused on how to move on and took each step with hesitation. While he journeyed on I looked for some sort of information on the internet (thank goodness for cell phone towers). I found a video where a mother and maybe a ten year old boy complete the obstacle. I am still extremely intimidated by it so I wander around and look for another way down. I can’t find any other path down. I see markers for a red trail but red is bad right? Why don’t they have a bypass route? Carlos gets to the bottom. He seems pretty far down there. I am still not ready. I watch the video once more. Carlos decides to come up to get me, maybe we will go back up the boulders to the safer trail? At that moment I decide to just do it. I move forward and start following the blue markers. I move swiftly until I get to a point where it is sort of a steep drop. I guess my choice is to slide down? That is what I do; but in the process hurt my knee and twist my good ankle (the other side has a long term running injury). I am injured but not dead. I keep going. I reach Carlos. He is surprised how quickly I made it to that point. I didn’t waste time making decisions, I blindly followed the blue. The area I meet up with him is sort of an open area off to the right seems to be another secret pathway. Already pushing my luck with this path I decide to stay away. However it looks like the kind of place where bats or vampires sleep for the night. We continue on out. Carlos warns me about bumping my head since he did so on his first attempt out. My hat blocks my view so I bump my head on the same spot as him. Now I have a sore knee, ankle and head, but I am out. I feel so accomplished. So proud of myself for conquering my fear.

A video journey of the Giant’s Workshop (what it is called).

I am beaten down so we walk back.

We decide to take the path back advised by the ranger “Overcliff Road”. He said was supposed to have great views. While it had at least one viewing area, it was mostly boring path that went on forever and ever. I was tired and felt like this path was wasting my time and energy stores.

Finally as we turn back toward the vistor’s center do we come across some action. We see pretty boulders and we get to watch the rock climbers in action.

We have to head back the way we came, except going up the stair master, I stumble down the stairmaster. My legs want to stop but there is an older man with his little dog coming down behind me. I MUST NOT LET THEM BEAT ME. The treat of being overtaken gets me down the hard part. After our campsite connector, we are back. I exchange some dollars for quarters in the campsite office, thinking a shower is even possible at this point. Once I get back to the site, shower is not happening.

The only thing that is happening is sandwiches, sleeping, and this wine.

We retired semi early since once it is dark, there isn’t much to do if you don’t have a burner. Fires not allowed on sites. The campsite has a fire pit but there is no way I am walking back that way.
Time to sleep….zzzzz

A PR to end the running season

Winter Park Road race medal is stained glass.

This past Saturday I ran the Winter Park Road Race, the race sparks the end of the official running season. Our local running store Track Shack hosts a number of races throughout the year. Six of them are designated part of the running series. One can register for all six at the beginning of the season and become a fanatic. My husband and I have run all of the races before in previous years; but never all of them in the same year. This year we both decided to be fanatics. Not only did we commit our selves to all six races but we also signed up for the distance dare competition of two of the races. Basically those two races have both a shorter run and a longer run. A person doing the distance dare will do both the runs back to back.
So we continued to train year long for these races as well as a 15K, 10 miler, the half-marathon, and the relay race. We said no to social events and trips so we wouldn’t miss any in the series.
Now it has all come to an end and I came out with another PR.
That would make 3 PR’s for the entire year. I fell short of my half-marathon goal but I can say I had a banner year!!!

Last year’s Winter Park Road Race was an accomplishment because I was able to complete it with slacker training. I had hoped that this year’s would be cool because I obviously do better in cooler weather. I was not lucky that day. Orlando started it’s spring (and when I mean spring I mean summer-lite). It was humid and hot. The first two miles were hot and I was a sweaty mess but I pushed it anyway,

It wasn’t exactly a PR for me but pretty fast considering the temperatures. I probably pushed it too hard but I wanted to get back to the start line with time to cool down before my next six miles.
When I woke up in the morning I was tired and still sore from my crossfit bootcamp workouts earlier in the week. I didn’t properly stretch all week and I was not in the greatest state of mind (our dog has been really sick). I wasn’t really going for a PR; I just wanted to get the race over with.
So I started running the 6 miles. With luck it did cool down a bit. I was still really tired but I pushed on.

As suspected the last 2 miles were a mess. I took more walking breaks and I started to get the idea of defeat in my mind. Suddenly in the last mile or so something changed. I decided to just push it to the end. At the final stretch a girl was catching up to me and I made sure that didn’t happen.
I crossed the finish line and collected my medals and free wine glass (best local race booty).

I also picked up this guy for completing the distance dare.

We chatted with some friends a bit and then went home to care for our sick dog. The dog got worse over the weekend so I never bothered to check my finish time until Monday (she was in surgery).
I was very happy to discover that I did indeed get a PR.
I find it very interesting that as I turned 40 this year, I feel more and more like my body is aging and falling apart but at the same time I am able to accomplish so many more things.
I feel like I can set more ambitious goals for next year; or maybe even lose that extra weight I can’t seem to shed.
The sky’s the limit!!!

Another PR!!

I finally had another PR (personal record). This time it was for my 5K time. I have been so fixated on my half-marathon time that I have dismissed any improvements for 5Ks. This distance that should be the easiest for me to conquer but I still only make slow improvements.
The speed work I did to prepare for the Ragnar Relay in combination with the cold temperatures for the Running in the Pines race was a perfect formula for a PR.

My fastest 5k on record was the Valencia 5K in 2006 and that was a race that was in the pouring down rain. Many runners refused to show up. I ran fast to get out of the storm.
This time around it was legit. It was cold but it was a busy race. I ran my first mile at a pretty swift pace while passing many runners. Usually I run my first mile too fast. It always back fires on my later and I lose my steam.
Mile 2 I kept pushing on. I was maintaining my fast pace. In fact I was going faster. Should I slow down? My thoughts began to do the math “If I am this close to a PR I think to finish it”. I pushed through to the end. I found a bit of extra reserve energy to pass some runners in the last .25 mile. I sprinted across the finish.
It was hard to tell from the clock what my actual time was and my mapping tool is always incorrect. I confirmed with the race result printout that I did indeed do my personal best on this 5k.
So exciting.

I have one more race left in the series. The final race is a 10k plus 2 mile distance dare. I did the combo last year. I don’t remember my time but I do remember my focus was on finishing the 2 miler as quickly as possible to make it in time for the 10k start.
Perhaps a PR is in this works for this race too? We will see…..

Ragnar Relay from Miami to Key West 2015

I did it! Or WE did it! I completed my first relay race!

Last year I was invited to run the Ragnar to Key West. Carlos and I have recently befriended a group of active folks we see frequently while running, biking, kayaking, and watching soccer games. We learned that they had a team registered in the upcoming Ragnar Relay from Miami to Key West. My husband has been looking forward to doing one; in fact he was signed up for one a couple years ago but had to drop out due to an injury. They had a full team but he asked to be considered for the future. I didn’t show interest for the race because the thought of running a race where people depended on my time sounded like a recipe for disaster.
Luck would have it that two out-of-towners dropped out of the race and they had two openings. They asked Carlos and I if we would like to participate. I hesitated but after some encouragement and a plan to do some speed training I said yes.
I continued my training to prepare for my upcoming half-marathon. It was that race that I fell less than one minute short of a PR (ugggh). However I did get to meet most of my Ragnar team (of the ones I didn’t already know). Below is a picture of most of our group at that race.

Only had 5k’s on the schedule after the Orlando Half so it was important that I still kept up with my long runs. December was tough but I felt like I got back on track in January with the exception of my last long run being terrible (I had to walk almost 1/3 of it).
In addition to my long runs, I added 2-3 sessions of speedwork. I typically skip this part of my training because I don’t like it. This time around people are counting on me to make some time improvement. So I pushed through and did the work.

In no time at all it seemed like it was time for the race. Thursday morning most of us met up in Orlando with our rented vans to head down to Miami to meet the rest of the team and rest for the night.

We were sure to tag our van early on with Orlando City Magnets (Go Lions!).

While in Miami we checked into our hotel and headed to a Cuban dinner.

We all fit in one van!

Cuban meal

After the team meal it was time to prepare our gear and get some sleep. Van 1 has an early start.

Early start time

Van 1 has to check in to get all the info and show proof of safety gear of all 6 participants.

Modeling the required reflective vest

Angelique keeping warm for her run.

And the race begins at 5:15 am.

Start line

After runner 1 starts we rush off to first find coffee and then to meet up with our runner at the first exchange.

It is a beautiful sunrise in Miami as we meet runner one by one until my turn as runner 6.

Carlos ready for his first run

While waiting we have time to decorate our van properly. The run happens to coincide with Carlos’s birthday so we decorate the van to celebrate. You will also notice random magnets. Teams have them made and tag the other vehicles. Sounds like a fun idea for the future.

Soon it was time for my run. It was an less than exciting run through Miami. The most interesting part about it was running on the wrong side of the road because I decided to follow a runner ahead of me instead of following my instincts (and the signs). Luckily I got a call from Carlos to tell me to cross the street. My pace was much better than I expected, even considering that I lost over a minute waiting for a cross walk signal that never came. Miami stinks. It was this first run that I discovered that my speed work had paid off. I finished ahead of schedule.

Carlos was surprised by van 2 carrying his big head. Matt made a big head of Carlos for his birthday and van 2 stayed up late assembling his big head. Thanks van 2!

It was time for me to mark off leg 1 on the van and put my kills. I only had 2-3 kills. I am slow so I am not expecting many.

Our van had a long break so we decided to get a nice big breakfast before we took some time to relax. I settled for some yummy salmon and cream cheese on a bagel. One of my favorites!

We headed to exchange 12 to wait for van 2 to finish. It was a cool spot. We got to rest in the sun and watch cars go real fast around the track. They had nice bathrooms so it gave me a good opportunity to change and cleanup before sitting in the van for hours before my next run. I also took advantage of the free biofreeze on my sore ankle.

Miami Homestead Speedway

Van 1 poses for a group photo.

We got slimed.

We start again. Leg 2 is where most of the group is doing their longest runs. We get to watch the sun start setting over canals. We drive down access roads along side of the runners. None of my runs are in this stretch but it seems challenging. Lots of dust from the vans and at one point there is an offensive stench from rotting squash.

And it gets dark and it is time for my run. I don’t have any pics from the run since it is very dark. My head lamp is essential. The course is mostly flat so the only reason why it might be considered very hard is because it is very dark, there are scary noises in the bushes, and you could be by yourself for much of the run. I was by myself for at least a mile and a half before someone passed me. It was kind of creepy and dark. I started off at a good long run pace but then I slowed considerably. I was tired and finding it hard to be motivated to push through this run.

When I arrived at the exchange it was dark and everyone was glowing. I wasn’t sure if I was hallucinating. Turned out there was a bunch of black lights. Cool look but I was too delirious to enjoy it. My team rushed me off to our motel we had booked for a nap and showers since they were all tired waiting for me. We showered and got a nice 4 hour nap before we got an early call from van 2 that their last runner had started. It was time to take off again.

Somewhere in this stretch we attempted to get coffee and pee at a Dunkin Donuts. They were overwhelmed. I waited in a 30 minute line for the bathroom and others waited for 45 minutes for coffee. It prompted the decree below. “No fancy coffee” at Ragnar. Get your standard coffee and go! Your fancy skinny mocha latte is holding everyone up!

I hitchhiked for the what I believe is the first time in my life at one of the exchanges. The port-a- potties were very far down this road. I jogged there but a nice van of non-murderers took me back.

We are in the final stretch for van 1. Jessica gets to compete a beautiful run across the 7 mile bridge not at all soiled by the sight of runner’s poops along the bridge (those runners don’t know how to time their poops like our team!). The day gets warmer and it is time for my last run. It is warmer than I like but I am pumped up for the end. I have a virtual exchange (the runner is on the other side of the road and I start with the bracelet.

My last run. Begins with 1/2 mile of a scenic trail

My last run starts on a lovely trail with a nice view of some mangroves. It is only lasts about 1/2 a mile before I am back on an eventual run along the road with traffic. I make the mistake of running on the grass and gravel instead of on the pavement. It sucks too much energy from me so I move to the side of the road and hope the cars don’t swipe me by accident.

I finally get to the one mile sign and want to take my only selfie opportunity for the run. I can’t get it right. It takes me many tries and many seconds. I give up and keep running.

Finally van 1 is done. Even with the selfie delay my pace comes in faster than I expected. The speed workouts really do work!
I mark off my box for our final run and we are off for some grub and and cold beverage while we wait for the rest of the team to finish.

Hogshead fish sandwich
I am feeling adventurous so I eat some greasy fried food post-run.

Last runner has started so we head to the finish so the entire team can cross the finish line together with our hulk mode shirts.

Right around the corner is the finish and we are done!

We cross the finish line and get our bling.

We think they are cheaply made of old metal pieces with lettering until we discover another team putting them together like a puzzle.

Jessica and I posing for the pee color chart. It is always important to make sure you are properly hydrated.

We get our finish line beer and head into our condos to get ready for dinner. We meet up for some food and make an appearance and the post race party at Ricks. The crowd was thick and music a little loud for our liking but we found some couches and made our own little party.

Hogs Breath

The next morning we met down at the southernmost point for a team picture in our Orlando City gear.

My bloody mary wanted to make sure she had a picture too.

We decided upon the most popular place in town for brunch. For our 3 hour wait we found this relaxing bar across the street. I got to relax in a hammock for a while.

Luckily we weren’t starving. We had plenty of chickens to entertain us.

We finally got our seats and ordered some food and more drinks.

LBLT Benedict (Lobster Bacon Benedict)

Some of the team had to take off early and some of us stayed an extra day or two to extend the fun. The team was great and our team captain was amazing. She was able to keep us all organized and kept her cool the entire time. It was a memorable experience. I will not hesitate to say yes if I am asked back.
Happy running!!!

*Some of the photos are borrowed from my teammates.

Testing the Sunrail Commute Part 2

Around six months ago they started a local commuter rail service in Orlando. I took advantage of a free trial period to test a commute to work. See Testing the Sunrail Commute for details.

Problems with the commute included not only timing of the trains but also lack of transportation options at either end of my train route. It was a big hassle to get to and from work.

Last week our local bus system, Lynx, started a test run of NeighborLink shuttle to take people from the Maitland Sunrail station to the offices in Maitland on the other side of I-4. This is great news since that was a very painful part of my commute.

I took advantage of this trial period to see if this could be a commuting solution for me. I chose a Thursday close to the slow holidays to test this out. I was slightly afraid there may be a hitch in my commute and I would end up later to work by accident.

The shuttle requires you to call a number 2 hours in advance of your ride to make sure you are scheduled for it. Because my expected ride time is at 7:05 am (which means a 5:00 am call!) I decided to call the day before. The person on the phone informed me that the shuttle will be at the station at 3 scheduled times in the morning so all I need to do is show up. She added my name and phone number to the system so my request call to get taken back to the station would be more efficient.

My plan for the next day is to get there early to catch the first train. I added some buffer time to figure out how to buy a ticket.

To make sure I was ready I did some preparations the night before:

Checked my tires for air. Pumped them up to recommended PSI.
Checked all my lights to make sure they worked.
Located my “lost” bike lock – it fell under my husbands rarely used car – doh!
Set clothes and supplies aside for the next day.

I woke up about 5:00 am and checked the weather. It was to be a chilly morning but I wasn’t worried, I can sweat in a snow storm.

Jeans and sneakers will do for this ride. Boy am I tired. I decide to tackle the makeup thing at work in case I end up dripping in sweat.

I removed my basket so I would have less hassle with parking and make it slightly lighter.

I turned on all my lights and I was ready to go.

The ride down to the Florida Hospital took me about 23 minutes. A couple extra minutes is dedicated to finding suitable bike parking. The ride is uneventful but my hands are pretty cold throughout the ride.

Bike parking is found within a Florida Hospital garage right next to the Sunrail Station. I locked it up and hoped all the parts would be there when I returned.

I wasn’t sure which way to go but I could see the sunrail platform right outside the garage so there should be a easy way to get to it from the garage right? Yeah no! I walked out the “exit”/staircase door only to find it was a dead end with no direct way to get to the Sunrail platform. The door shut behind me and there was no handle to get back in the garage. It was either go all the way around to find another way there or climb across a ditch. I chose the ditch because it was the shortest route. Things were dry so it was ok but I suppose this will not be an option for me on rainy days.

Dead end

The ditch

I still had almost ten minutes to get a ticket and get on the train. Buying a ticket was easy but I got help from an attendant since it was my first time. I decided on a round-trip ticket for this trip since I didn’t know when my next commute day would be. I chose my destination from the kiosk. I am traveling only one county so my fare is $3.75. I think the cost goes up depending on how many counties you cross in your commute. I am assuming the monthly passes are more economical.

Users need to tap before you get on and tap when you get off the train. I guess this is to activate the ticket.

The train arrives on time and I choose a seat upstairs.

I have time to pack my helmet away until this afternoon for my ride home.

An attendant checks my ticket to verify I have activated it.

Didn’t really test the wifi out but it seems to be available.

Two stops and 12.5 minutes later I am at my stop in Maitland. It is time to tap off.

We arrived at 6:48 AM. The shuttle was there waiting.

The lady driving the shuttle was extremely helpful and friendly. She gave me details all about the service. Unfortunately we were not scheduled to leave until 7:05 (over 15 minute wait). I suppose they wait for the southbound train to arrive before making the first trip. While I enjoyed the conversation I wish the shuttle could have taken off immediately after the train trip. It was already adding 15 minutes of idle time by having this waiting period.

While in the shuttle I found out that it will not service my side of Maitland Boulevard as of this time. I also learn how the shuttle has many places it cannot go (for example it is forbidden to go into Altamonte Springs which is in some places right across the street from Maitland office areas). I am lucky because they can drop off in front of RDV Sportsplex which is not a long walk across the busy street to my building. I will save the whining for those who work in building set much further behind on my side of Maitland Blvd. The shuttle has one other passenger to drop off and took about 15 1/2 minutes to get there from the station. I arrive at the office at 7:30 AM.

Crossing Maitland Blvd by foot.

Total commute time to work is 1 hour 30 minutes.

For the trip home the driver informed me that she already had scheduled pickups at RDV, one at 5:00 and one at 5:30. I could call 2 hours in advance if I wanted another pickup time. I decided the 5:00 pickup would be sufficient to get me to the 5:29 PM train and it was.

Pick up spot at RDV

The shuttle arrived promptly. Traffic was already starting to get backed up. It took us a little over 15 minutes to get back to the station.

I headed over to wait for my Southbound train (15 min wait).

The train ride back took about 13 minutes. I was happy when I arrived to find my bike locked up and safe in the Florida Hospital garage.

It had warmed up a bit but still cool enough to be only a slightly sweaty ride home.

The bike ride home is only slightly more challenging because there is more traffic. I feel the need to go faster to keep up with traffic. I chose to stay on the busy road for most of the ride home but I could easily subsitute cutting through the Audubon Park neighborhood to make it a more relaxing ride.
I commute that way most days and the big difference with being on the bike is that I had an urge to stop at a local business to shop or meet friends. Unfortunately no friends were out at the time and I couldn’t think of an errand that needed to be run that day. Being on a bike really exposes you more to a neighborhood and I think that is a good thing.

In my previous trip I was real frustrated with my riding experience. The train itself is clean and timely and the staff is friendly and helpful. My complaints then were about the lack of more frequent trains and lack of connection options. At least for now the connection options are getting better. The most frustrating part of the bike commute is now replaced by the shuttle. I still don’t know if this is a practical solution for me. Commuting each way took an hour and a half. When I traveled last time it was only a little over an hour each way. I didn’t like that I had to wait 15 minutes for the shuttle to leave the station. It is real hard to convince someone whose worse case car commute is 45 minutes (normal 25 minutes) to give up an extra hour and a half a day to take the train. Some areas that could improve even more: increase train frequency (allow commuters to time the shuttle better), have on demand shuttle trips from the station or as soon as a train arrives, expand the office drop-off area of the Maitland shuttle, and add more feeder shuttles (ummm…Baldwin Park).

Will I take it again? If the Maitland shuttle continues then yes. I won’t ride it every day, it isn’t practical for me sometimes due to the nature of the work I do. But I can attempt to ride a couple times a week. Adding some extra bike riding would be good for my overall health. I would like to try next to time the commute so I can attempt a 6:00 pm exercise class in either Winter Park or Mills 50 or try commuting with some baggage (laptop, lunch or change of clothing).
I am looking forward to what the future holds for Sunrail. I see so many areas where it can get better.
Hopefully I will have another happy update soon!