From Sweet Apples to Green Lagoons

Tonight's run was at Linvilla Orchards. I met Maggi and Kristen there at 5:30. The trail map says the Linvill Trail is 3.5 miles and the Indian Orchard spur off the Linvill Trail is 1.5. Either we missed a turn or the 3.5 includes the 1.5 or the trail map mis-stated the length. No worries, though. 2 miles is 2 miles. I got to add Kristen to my list and tonight was my fourth exercise day in a row- something I haven't done in a very long time. :)

The trail goes around the apple and pumpkin orchards that are bounded in part by Linvill Road and Knowlton road. There were some open fields as well that likely held some other crop long since harvested. The smell of the apples was very strong and quite pleasant. Kristen and Maggi are doing the same 5k on Sunday (Hero 5k in Collegeville); Kristen is doing a 20 miler on Saturday in prep for the Philly marathon; and Maggi is going trail running with Ryan and Sophorn on Saturday. So they were content to take it easy and chat which of course suited me just fine.

My hip, which was bothering me again this morning, felt good the entire time. I'm sure some of the pain this morning is old age morning-ness. Keep moving and keep smiling right? And I did do a lot movement and stretching as I could throughout the day and that helped. Still, I think it was wise to avoid the orchard trail which is a bit steeper. Having said that Linvill was not as flat as advertised but we managed.

While my hip was good my breathing not so much and now as I sit at home writing this my throat is thick and I have a cough. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. It's humid out and we haven't had that first frost yet. I'll be fine once the pollen dies and I get my endurance back.

We did make one wrong turn - the angle of the trail marker was goofy. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it. We ended up circling a very ugly looking bright green swampy pond. Kristen was spooked and I have to admit that it did have the look of something that could house a creature of some sort.

As we returned to our cars the rain drops started. The weather forecast was off by about an hour in predicting the start of the rain. So all in all the length of our run was perfect.

I arrived home to find Dave on the phone with Verizon. We have no Internet or TV so this will have to post tomorrow. Friday is a rest day and date night. Popcorn for dinner and a movie! :)