I initially started the day wanting to get a relaxed long run in. I was planning on doing the full 16ish miles, and Dan was going to do the last 10-11 with me since he had already ran a lot of miles this past week! I had injured my neck climbing earlier in the week, so I didn’t think an fkt would be in the cards for today. However, as soon as I started down the trail from Bennetts Farm Road in Ridgefield, I knew I was feeling good and wanted to see if I could go fast! Today was a somewhat rainy wet day, so there were some slippery and muddy portions where I had to be careful, but I was surprised by how runnable the trail was overall. Dan joined in with me about 5.5 miles in, a little ways after I crossed route 7. For this reason, the effort was supported. I carried my own water and snacks, but he did help me open a stubborn gel packet that I couldn’t seem to get open with my sweaty hands! We went slightly off route with just under 2 miles to go and had to back track a little, but that probably only added a minute or two. At the end we managed to get to the train tracks seemingly right after a train went by, and finished a couple minutes later at Sidecut Road in Redding. Overall it was a successful day with only one minor ankle roll and one large trip on a rock that I was able to recover from without falling.