The Long and Winding Road of a Weekend

Very little of what I expected actually happened this weekend. That is not a bad thing it's just a fact.

I had the day off work on Friday to go to the doctor for my treadmill test. That was planned and I'm happy to say all is well and doc was happy to clear me for any and all activity after that. I was so excited after that I accepted an invitation to join Misery Loves Company on a trail run on Saturday. I spent the rest of the day running errands and odd tasks "knowing" that after the trail run Saturday I would be wanting to lay low until my shift at Back on My Feet 20 in 24 with Tootsie from 9:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

HA! Goes to show what I 'know'. On Friday afternoon we received messages that BoMF and the City decided it was best to cancel Saturday and make the event a 12 hour run on Sunday only from 7 am to 7 pm. The weather was awful all week and was expected to peak on Saturday with severe thunderstorms rolling through in the evening. I think it was a wise decision but there are some comments floating around FB that there is more to this than what is being said since this event has always taken place in hot, humid weather. It's summer in July after all. I don't recall the severe thunderstorm, high wind threat in past year though. As it turned out the storms did roll through around 10 or so shutting down the Electric Run 5k and delaying the start of the Taylor Swift concert at the Linc.

Swimming in Smedley Park

With 74% humidity it felt like swimming anyway. I missed the Misery Loves Company (MLC) group this morning. I had trouble getting to sleep last night and when it got to 1:30 I knew I was never going to get up at 5:30 to meet them at 7:00. So I turned off the alarm.

I woke up just after 7 had breakfast and decided to go out on my own to Smedley Park. It's not the far from home (in fact I passed over it on my Independence Day walk on Thursday). I've only ever been there to get on to the Leiper Smedley trail.

The humidity is socked in now and we are under a heat advisory until Sunday or Monday. It was cooler among the trees but still a little like moving through soup. Within seconds I was covered in sweat which by itself wasn't so bad but it made all the cobwebs and bugs stick to me. YUCK! I had fun though exploring the trails and there are still some left I think so I'll go back. You might be interested to see THIS is the official trail map for the park and THIS is the Garmin track of my travels. I saw a few people walking their dogs and two mountain bikers while I was out.

Blockbuster Weekend Part II

Sunday - June 23

Today I went to Forbidden Drive for a 2 hour guided hike. I had a good time but probably would have had just as much fun on my own or with friends just wandering around. One thing I learned is that there are way more trails there than I ever imagined. I think it would make a great bucket list item to try to cover all 50 miles of identified trails. But I'd likely get sidetracked on the unofficial trails. At any rate I expect to spend time back there. Now I see why the trail running group likes to go there so often.

Summer is still coming along nicely. It's more humid today and in the last few hours it's gotten a lot more humid. There is a chance of thurnderstorms just about every day this week. After the last few days there is no room to complain about that.

I'm not brave enough to take a photo from the front.
It's a narrow ledge and a long way down.

The only covered bridge inside the city limits of a major US city.

Click here for more photos.

BTW, I'm not sure why I titled these last two posts blockbuster weekend. Probably because I'm thinking of summer starting and that's usually when all the big movies come out.

Blockbuster Summer Weekend Part I

Saturday June 22-

It's a little more humid today but nothing a few extra bottles of water can't handle. Summer is two days old now and doing it right.

Today I went for a walk/hike around trails at Haverford Reserve. If you are local this is what they built on the old Haveford State Hospital site. It's now a mix of community center, ball fields, playgrounds, trails and residences for people with lots of money. The residences that is not the other stuff. The recreational stuff is open to plain folk like me! I've been wanting to check out these trails for some time now and today was the perfect day to do so  - not just for the weather. The Misery Loves Company trail runners (remember the Rode to Joy?) were doing a point to point run from Swarthmore College to Haverford College as a farwell run with Gabby who is moving to South Carolina next week. Leave it to Pete to find a route of that distance that covers more trails than paved roads. Actually where we live is full of secret and not so secret trails if you care to look for them. I knew the last leg of their route would be through this area so that's why I chose today. Here is a photo of Gabby and Me when they arrived. (Courtesy of Pete because I exhausted the battery on my camera taking photos on the trail.)

 

 



12.5 times 2

Today was one of the more humid days we've run in. It seemd to be split between the Saturday morning gang as to which was worse - this week or last. I think this one wins by a nose. The only blessing today was the cloud cover which kept the sun at bay for most of the run. It also kept the humidty from burning off but you can't have everything.

I ran 12.5 with Angela and Michelle mostly. Maggie was there for part of it and so was Marjorie. We did 2 and 1 intervals. I think this is going to be my interval of choice at least until the soupy hot weather clears. The difference for me was being tired at the end but not ready to quit or die. I do have to watch out in the early miles. It feels really good and I'm still going too fast. Even so, toward the end when I did start to feel it in my legs I was able to say "it's only 2 minutes" just do it. I had a great run down at Kelly Drive using 2 and 1's too. So for now, that's what I'm going to do.

After the last walker made it back to home base - Valley Forge Visitor Center this week - I took my bike out on the trail for another 12.5 miles. I headed out from the park over the 422 bridge to the SRT and to the left toward the Oaks. Then out and back out to the dog park and back. I was only at 12 when I returned so I rode around the parking lot to make it an even 12.5 for both feet and bike miles today. Yeah I know - dork!

The bike ride was uneventful. No large rodents. It was rather pleasant actually.