OWL-DRAGON

A Different Path This Weekend

Last week I was in Central Park with all the congestion and crowds of New York.

But this week I ran much more solitary routes.

I had two distinctive runs – both a little over two hours. Saturday’s run was on the Greenway in Brandywine Creek State Park in northern Delaware. The portion of land thru which the trail runs is part of the Woodlawn Trust donation. I tried to find more about this organization on line but found little. But the land was a donation to the state to preserve this open space. The trail is part of the northern Greenway.

One path I took included a very steep climb which I thought would be good prep for the Ultra. This was a challenging run because snow and ice covered much of the route. Much of the trail was well trodden but I did find a trail that had not been broken. In fact at one point I thought I had lost the trail altogether but was shortly able to make out a slight depression that indicated the trail direction. It was a pleasure to have a brand new experience on these trails.

On Sunday I did a great 15 mile loop using familiar streets close to home. This is a route I have used for long runs as marathon preparation. The last time I did this route it was in brutal heat; Sunday I contended with cold temps and wind. I preferred the cold. The run was tiring but not the exhausting kind of run that summer heat creates.

I finished both runs tired but satisfied that my conditioning is on target.