Pinckney Trail Half Marathon Race 2016

The Trail Half was one of my favorite races in 2015 and so I wasted no time in getting signed up for the 2016 version.  An added bonus was this year was the 30th anniversary of the race and so they had special wooden medals to be handed out.  While I did opt for the Half again this year I do still harbor aspirations, when my calendar allows, to still attempt the full marathon or even the 50K.  

Once again I made sure to arrive plenty early as I recalled from last year how quickly the lots began to fill up.  I left home about 5:40am or so and was at the Silver Lake lots just before 6am.  A good handful of cars were already there.  

Pre-race
It was about 38° outsde at the start of things, but with the sun out and no real breeze it didn’t feel too bad. By the lake it was the coolest, but after that, on the trail especially, it felt pretty decent.  Upon arrival I grabbed my race shirt and bib and then headed back to the car where I sat in the warmth listening to the radio for 20 minutes.  Plenty of other individuals were in there cars with engines and heat running.  Just before 7:30a I headed out to hit the bathroom and then get a mile or so warm-up jog in.  I headed up from the trailhead and over the two boardwalks to get close to a mile.  Also on the return jogged out to the point and back to the car.  I was able to get another 10-15 minutes at the car to change up clothes and shoes and get ready for the race.

Island Lake Yellow Loop

Island Lake Yellow Loop:
Island Lake State Recreation Area
Trailhead Elevation: 913 ft.
Distance: 5.52 mi. (my Forerunner 230)
Elevation Gain: 624 ft. (my GPS)
Start Time: 2:49pm
End Time: 3:46pm

Trip Report:

With a business conference up in Flint all morning and into the afternoon, it seemed like the perfect day to shoot for another good trail-run after the other responsibilities were finished. I had debated heading over to Brighton again where I had run last October. I was also interested in exploring Highland where I plan to run the Highland Loops 25k in a few weeks, but ultimately I decided that Island Lake would fit my needs perfectly. I was hoping if time allowed to do the full Blue Loop but that wouldn't be the case. I had about an hour to spare and the distance of the Yellow Loop suited that perfectly.

"Winter" La Plata Peak Climb

Route Name: Northwest Ridge (with winter variation) from La Plata Trailhead
Trailhead Elevation: 10,148 ft.
Summit Elevation: 14,336 ft.
Distance: 9.89 mi.
Elevation Gain: 4,191 ft.
Start Time: 5:40am
Summit Time: 11:55am (7 minutes on top)
End Time: 3:46pm

Trip Report:

Basic Technical Info
This was our sixth year of heading out to Colorado for a "winter" 14er ascent.  As with last year, we are stretching the technical definition of "winter" ascent beyond calendar winter to absolutely "winter" conditions.  Our list of easy and safe winter 14ers is starting to get thinner but La Plata has been one on my radar for years, for both summer and winter.  I still can't quite pinpoint precisely what is drawing me to this peak but I was pleased to see it this year.  The experience we had this day only confirmed my draw.  The aesthetics of the trail and the views and the summit approach made for an awesome climb.