Oak Creek Line: Take 2
A lot of things didn’t go great the first time I ran this line, so I knew I had to do it again and be better prepared. As a result, I made two major changes and one minor change to my run.
Major Change 1: Run on a Cooler Day
I waited for an early, crisp fall day. I spent the summer acclimatizing to the heat and used that adaptation to my advantage as this line is almost completely exposed even with full foliage. It still proved to be a toasty run, and I several times wished I could have traded my running tee for a running tank or crop. Running on Ryan Road was the exception, this was a cold, windy section of the trail.
Major Change 2: Make This Point-to-Point a Loop
On my first run of this line, I spent a lot of time beforehand planning parking for my car and my bike because I didn’t want to run the 4.5 miles needed to connect the trailheads. I wanted to bike as much as I could between them. Both times, I looked at these miles as an extended cooldown, but the stress before wasn’t worth the effort. This became especially true because I got a flat and walked at least two of those miles with my bike. Eliminating this stress helped me a lot mentally since I could just go out and run. Also, GreenLawn Park is conveniently located near one end of the line and has a small parking lot which makes turning this into a loop easy breezy. It also means doing the punchy inclines at the beginning when fresh.
While a loop doesn’t make sense as part of the FKT (since it’s not part of the Oak Leaf Trail at all), it makes a lot of sense logistically.
Minor Change: Do a Long Run, Not a Workout
Previously, I took two shorter tempo workouts from the week and did them back-to-back. Wanting to hit these paces for so many miles caused me a lot of mental stress, particularly being so hot that day. Instead, I did a long run on the second go-around. I find long runs to be extremely relaxing and chill, regardless of the distance or time.
Other than these three changes, I didn’t change much else. I used the same hydration pack and fuelling strategy; I wore newer shoes and probably different clothes, but those two major changes made all the difference for me.
There were fewer people out on the trail this time around, but most of them were still concentrated in the middle third. It seems the northern third is avoided, and the last couple miles are through fields and on the road making them less desirable for foot traffic. There do tend to be more cyclists on these miles though.
All-in-all, I’m happy with averaging 1 minute 25 seconds/mile faster this time! Plus, it felt more like an easy jog through the park than running through a hot oven while wrapped in aluminum foil cooking alive (because I got very burnt the first time).