What a blast!
The SPS is a series of trail runs held at gorgeous state parks in Idaho and Washington all summer long. There was a 5 mile race and a half marathon race, I opted for the 5 miler because I have my half marathon this weekend (gulp).
I did not have a fast race, but it was a ton of fun! The scenery is incredible and the atmosphere was really nice too.
We drove up as a family, and D & M were able to explore and play while I ran. The course had some ups and downs, with one steep hill that I had to walk up. It was very shaded and picturesque as we ran along the shoreline of Lake Pen d'Oreille. I was amazed at how sore my feet and lower legs were on Sunday and Monday - mostly from the rockiness and unevenness of the trail - but that is trail running in north Idaho!
It took me about an hour and three minutes to complete the run. Whew, it was tough - trail running is so different from road running. They had a great set up of grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, chips, cookies, beer, water and soda available as some post-race goodies. I ate more than I should have - doesn't everything taste better after a nice, hard run? There was also a raffle for some cool running gear - sadly, I didn't win anything - next time!
After the race, we hiked around and checked out some of the views. The park was a Naval Training Station in WWII (yes, I said Navy in land-locked Idaho), so there are some old remnants from those days. Then we got on our bikes and biked over to one of the campgrounds where our friends were camping. We will definitely be back to camp this summer. We've heard the park gets pretty busy as it warms up, but there is so much more there that we want to explore.
The race and the day spent at the park was a lot of fun and I am hoping to participate in some of the other races in the series this summer. M was in heaven just getting to wander around, play in the woods/grass, throw rocks, etc. When I picked him up after the race, I noticed that his shoes and pants were wet. D said he had looked away for .02 seconds and of course, he was already in the water. Haha! He is definitely an outdoorsy kid, isn't he?! It was a long day with all of the running, biking and hiking, but being outside was good for all of us. We are so lucky to have such beautiful resources so close to home.
I highly recommend a day (or more) at Farragut State Park and a run with the Trail Maniacs!
Have you done a trail run? Tell me about it!
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