Caratunk Treadmill - The Tour..sort of

So I was having a really tough time motivating myself to get out the door today for my 8 mile run.  I am a little ashamed to say that I hit snooze on the alarm this morning, knowing that SUAR and Miss Zippy would do anything to go out and run 8 miles pain free right now (heal quickly you guys - and yes, you are both running Boston). 

Then I got home from work and procrastinated even more and diddled around with different projects.  Suddenly it was dark and I had to get my run in.  So I headed under the bright lights of Caratunk to run the Caratunk Treadmill.

I always kind of dread running this route, the repetitiveness gets to me.  But really, it is a nice run and once I get out there I always enjoy it and am happy I did it.  It is kind of weird to me how the anticipation or dread of something is almost always way worse than the actual doing of that thing.

It was 6 degrees and dark when I stepped outside for my run, and the roads were covered in about 1 inch or so of packed snow - which is like running in sand.  I figure more bang for your buck, right?

Wee, let me waste a little more time before I get running...

Oh. You might notice or think I am not wearing much for single digits.  I run really hot.  I don't wear gloves until it gets below zero, my hands warm up really fast when I run, but are always cold when I ski. Figure that out.  My friend Beth thinks I am nuts to go without gloves, but they turn into a pain for me, I just end up carrying them in the first 5 minutes.  So, I go out on the colder side of comfort and almost always warm up within the first mile and am shedding layers. 

About the Caratunk Treadmill.  I have mentioned this a few times before, but the Caratunk Treadmill is what I run when I have to run and it is dark. I have added to it since THIS post to make it a little longer.  Really, it is my only option that doesn't involve dodging log trucks.  It isn't an actual treadmill, because I am allergic to those deathtraps.  Seriously, I am somehow just not coordinated enough to stay on the things.  Don't believe me? Read THIS (it is embarrassing story #2).

Done laughing?  It is OK, I laugh every time I think about it.  Now you understand my treadmill problem.  Moving on.

Here is a map of the Caratunk Treadmill, which is really the places in town that are lit up, which adds up to a ~ 3.6 mile loop.  So you go back and forth until you get the mileage you want for your run.

Oh. The map, right:

The blue line is the Caratunk Treadmill - where the lights are.

It isn't as bad as it looks, trust me.

I thought it would be kind of fun to show you a virtual tour of what I call the Caratunk Treadmill, let you get a really good feel for the run through town.  What happened was I ended up with 15 pictures that look kind of like this:

The dark and scary south end of town

The bright and boisterous north end of town.

Um. Yeah.  That is about it.  So it is dark, the road is snowy, and there are not many people around.  You don't have to see 13 more of those pictures.  On the spooky south end of town where there are not many houses, you can hear the coyotes howling sometimes.  That coupled with the fact that I have an over active imagination makes me run faster on that end of town.  I swear the smoke monster from LOST was chasing me through the south end of town on my second loop tonight.

I told you, over active imagination and too much sci-fi.

The moon that the coyotes howl at.

My run went well considering the traction issues I had, some places were not so bad, others, it was kind of deep.  I finished the run in 1h17m, including photo stops.  Have a great night!