Trail Monday: Lake Minnetonka LRT Trail

I had many many needs today.  They included a long run, breaking in new shoes, not getting the new shoes muddy, and avoiding horse trails as much as possible.  I'd been thinking about the Lake Minnetonka LRT Trail for a while, and it met all my conditions.  I've run this trail twice before, slightly different parts.  Once last summer and one other time last winter when my phone died.  It was winter and it was cold. 

Trail: Lake Minnetonka LRT Trail.  Similar to River Bluffs, this is a crushed limestone trail.  The surface is interesting enough to call it a trail, but tends to drain well and be utterly non-technical.  I started in Excelsior, and ran a 5 mile out, 5 mile back route.  I picked this particular spot on the trial because I thought it would offer the best views of the lake.  I was so right.

Hills: No lie.  I felt like I was running up hill all of the time.  You know those days when flat ground looks like it's up hill?  Turns out there may have been some truth to my feelings, given the elevation profile, but probably nowhere near how I felt.

Ease of Running: Absolute pleasure.  Have I mentioned the crushed limestone?  The trail was actually packed today, and the hardest part of running when when the trail got narrow, and there were bikers and runners and walkers.  Oh my.

Animals: I saw birds of prey, ducks in the ponds and dogs on leashes.  There were way too many people out to expect to see a deer.

Will I come back: I think so, but sporadically.  This trail is crazy scenic with all of the bays on Lake Minnetonka.  This trail is also crazy far away, and on not the funnest route in the world to traverse, so I pick my moments sparingly on this course.

9 Miles on the Lake Minnetonka LRT Trail

In the past I've made it clear that I prefer running on not-pavement surfaces when I can.  In the cities and suburbs, not-paved trails are hard to come by.  Local favorites include the River Bluffs Trail and that thing from Buffalo to Montrose. I'd always heard that Lake Minnetonka LRT trail is also crushed limestone but it seemed too good to be real.  I found out today: true.

Plan:  I'd wanted to do 8-10 miles.  Before the start of the run, I knew it was a bit too hot for 10. I decided on 9 miles with the mental agreement that I could shorten it to 8 if I wanted to.  Because it's always good to have a backup plan.

Route: I knew I was going to finish the work day very close to the Lake Minnetonka LRT trail, and that it'd be a new trail for me to run.  I like to run out and backs when I'm on new trails.  LRT trails lend themselves to out and backs anyways, because where else was I going to go? When I run at the end of the work day the biggest challenges I face are parking, a place to change my clothes, a place to fill up my water bottle, and a place to go to the bathroom.  So I started the run at a point the trail ran through Excelsior, an adorable little town that took good care of me. From Excelsior I headed southwest for 4.5 miles, then turned around and came back.

Weather: It was kind of warm.  I mean, we've had our moments of fall like weather and there was one day when I saw frost on an early morning run.  But today is was 75* and sunny in the afternoon with an occasional breeze. 

Execution: I'm beginning to understand ultra distance runners who say it takes them 20 miles to warm up.  It took me a solid 6 miles to feel warmed up and loose.  The final 3 miles were really fun.  After the run, I did a 'finisher' of standing bicycles, standing leg lifts, and calf raises, counting down from 10 reps to 1 rep of each.  Then I did some dynamic stretching and then static stretching.

Nutrition:  I'd like to thank my body for getting sick before I even started the run.  By the time I headed out, things had settled a bit. I had 2 little bottles of water and a pack of chews with me.  I ate two chews at mile 4 and two more at mile 5.  Even though my stomach was more stable, it was still in 'don't touch me' mode so I didn't want to put too much in it.  I felt stronger as I kept going anyways.  I had one bottle of water on the run, and finished the other off at the end of the run, then refilled both bottles and drank those too.

Pictures: I mean, seriously.  I could not get enough of this trail.