2011 Trolley Run

Our first road race of the season and a pretty big one too. The 2011 Trolley Run has been going on for 23 years and brings in 10,000+ runners each year. It is known as the fastest and biggest 4 mile road race in the nation.

We were actually late this morning for the race because we slept in, whooops. Not the way you want to start the 2011 road race season. We managed though and ended getting to the starting line with enough time left to get a decent warm-up in.

Amanda and I both felt we did well considering our lack of quality training over the past couple months. It was a ton of fun and a beautiful day for a race. Amanda finished 2nd in her division and 19th overall for women. I finished 11 in my division and 14th overall. Winning time for the race was 17:59.

A great start for 2011. We now have a good idea of where we are and where we need to be. We have a lot of work to do and a lot more exciting road races ahead of us this season.

2011 Trolley Run Results

Morning Run at Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego

I wanted to show Amanda a one of my favorite places to run when I lived in San Diego. Mission Trails Regional Park has a ton of rolling hills, trails and valleys. We only had a limited amount of time because my big sis was getting married the same day so we had to make our adventure quick.


We found a trail that led up to the peak of a hill. It was a pretty tough climb as you could see from Amanda's facial expression.

One of the trails we found led to a hut where people used to stay in way back in the day. 

I wish we would of had more time here. The park is pretty big with a lot of mini mountain's I haven't climbed yet. I think Amanda seemed to enjoy it as well. Overall we did about 6 miles and hiked up a couple hills. Maybe next year we'll be back!!!

Snowing IN KC.......When Its Almost APRIL????

A very cloudy, cold and snowy Sunday for us as we ventured to Blue Springs Lake to run around a 10 mile trail around the lake. Amanda and I had  a little trouble finding the trail head but with a little bickering and a lot of u-turns, we finally located the entry point.

As the run went on, the more the snow flakes. Amanda spotted a bald eagle (I saw it first but didn't tell her) and wanted to run to a better place and get a better view. Unfortunately, it was soo far away, we weren't able to get a better picture. However, there were a bunch of annoying geese walking around honking at us. I wanted to take one home for dinner but Amanda wouldn't let me.

I was fortunate enough to get a waterfall of a nose bleed during the run. Amanda said it was probably because I pick my nose too much but I think it was because of the weather. It was a bummer because I didn't have anything to wipe so when I came home and looked in the mirror, I looked like I just killed a wild beast with my bare hands........AWESOME!!!

Great day overall because Blue Springs Lake is a great area for all sorts of outdoor activity. We put in a solid 10 miles and will definitely come back. We both decided it was one of the better trails in KC and look forward to another great day in the summer with a little better weather.

A Windy Day in Platte County

A windy and gloomy Saturday morning for exploring around the Platte County area today. However there was no snow to be found and I would much rather run when it is windy then trench through a couple inches of snow. Amanda and I started out this weekend's exploration at the Green Hills of Platte Wildlife Preserve and finished along the Missouri Riverfront Trail.
 

We roll in and to our surprise, we see a sketchy ice cream van with a dirty old guy taking a quick nap.I wanted Amanda to get me an ice cream cone but she wouldn't.

    
      Amanda apparently thought she was a squirrel during the run. 

The Green Hills was a lot of fun with small series of little trails and wetlands in the woods. We got in about 4 miles total with a lot of  backtracking and running on duplicate trails.

  

The Riverfront Trail wasn't anything special - your basic wide open bike path. The whole trail is about 3.5 miles along the Missouri River. Once completed it will be 11 miles total. All in all, still an exciting worthwhile day and we put in a good 8 miles!!

http://www.platteparks.com/parks_ghp.html

http://www.platteparks.com/trails_mrt.html

Sunday Run on Little Blue Trace Trail

The snow is finally melting!!!! Amanda and I could not pass up the opportunity to go for a nice long run on Little Blue Trace Trail in Independence, MO which was only 15 miles SE from our home. A 10 mile (one-way) trail that follows the Little Blue River. It also passes through a Civil War monument describing a battle that took place in 1864.

The footing wasn't ideal for most runners but the nice weather made up for it.

Amanda did not want to get her new shoes dirty. I do not think there was anyway around keeping her shoes clean with all the mud and melting snow on the trail.

You could not ask for a better day. The sun was shining, birds were chirping and best of all, the snow was melting. We got in about a good 8 miles with a lot of mud on our legs to show for it!