My first, and longest, solo adventure trail run...

I had the opportunity to run the Lime Kiln Trail today, near Granite Falls. What a treat that trail was!  It was suggested by my coach, and trail runner extraordinaire, Jessica Kelly. From the description I read online - it didn't sound all that exciting but I was willing to give it a shot. Despite the pouring rain and later morning start, me and my "10  Essentials" which I now call my "10 pounds of Essentials" took off for the hour long drive to the trail head.  When I got there,  I had to start with running 2 miles on the road to get a total of 9 miles in today as training for my upcoming half marathon - so I begrudgingly ran my  2 miles of road.

Then I entered the trail and the fun began!  It was so empowering to be there solo and have the freedom to run without feeling too much fear for my safety. The trail was non technical and not much elevation but had fun things to see around every twist. There were several log bridges of different shapes and sizes, and several tree "obstacles" throughout the 7 mile out and back trail.

 I came across the historic Lime Kiln rather unexpectedly,  and then was hesitant to continue through the mucky mud to get to the "extra" loop I was supposed to do at the end of the trail.

But I persevered, and I am so glad that I did!  There was a huge rushing waterfall on the Stillaguamish River and a rather primitive little loop that was well worth the effort! It was a blast - I would love to run that again in the summer! How empowering this run was for me - feeling well prepared if anything went wrong and so much freedom to explore the beauty of our area.