Covered bridges are a thing here in Vermont and my mom gets super excited about them. This one is actually functional. We saw a car about to pass through it (cause you can’t really go over it like a normal bridge) and we were a little nervous because it’s made mostly of wood. Wood is strong I suppose. The car passed through, and then another, and another, and the bridge was still standing afterwards. I’m not an engineer, but being inside the bridge, I can tell that the covered part of the covered bridge is structurally important, right? There were all sorts of crossbeams in there holding everything together. Enough.
Today is usually a day off but I ran anyway. I had a phone interview that I was hopeful about and it went extremely well, so well that if a few things go right, a few things that I might be able to help go right, I’ll have the job. Nothing is ever certain, though. After the interview, I had this abundance of nervous energy, so much that I was shaking as I was explaining to my mom what was said in the interview. So my run today was as much a celebration as it was a relaxation aide.
I had to keep it easy though. We drove to one of the parking lots for the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail, which is just like the Pinellas Trail, except every mile is beautiful instead of a handful. There are a lot of other differences, actually, but no need to go into them now. I ran 5 miles easy. In the 4th mile I picked it up a little just to get the blood pumping but nothing crazy. My quads are a little sore from all the downhill madness yesterday but otherwise my legs feel fresh. I think I needed to run today. Sometimes after a thrashing, my legs need a calmer, more civilized usage to return to normal. They feel better than they did before I ran. On Saturday, for 24 miles, I’m going to run this rail trail. Although the trail-trails will be the most fun I have running this week, the Saturday run on Florida-flat terrain is the most important to my training, fitness-wise. Back to the grind of specificity, specificity being running on flat terrain.
Tomorrow, though. Tomorrow I am running to the top of Mt. Mansfield. It’s the tallest peak in Vermont at 4,393 feet. Not very tall as far as tall peaks go, but in total the elevation gain for the run will be around 2,500-3,000 feet. The total mileage will be around 8-9, not sure exactly. For context and/or comparison, a normal 8 or 9 mile run in Florida nets me about 30 feet of elevation gain. Without the pedestrian bridges that number would be close to 0. So it’s gonna hurt. But it’s gonna be beautiful.
Here are a few more photos from yesterday.
runjournal 