Day trip adventure in running

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 · Mike Davis

Good morning and happy Wednesday! I hope that coffee does the job today because I feel like I really need it! I am still here in Washington DC and hoping things get back to normal. The extraordinary amount of snow we received really paralyzed the entire area to include the base where I work at and the base I am staying at (2 different bases). When they say that a little snow shuts down our nation’s capital, you can only imagine what a couple of feet did. Apparently there remain a lot of snowbound people even after yesterday when it was in the 50s here. Crazy! Running has certainly been a challenge with due to the blizzard and absolutely no road safe to run on, as well as all the fitness centers on base have been closed. Yesterday I spent over an hour Googling places to run in DC and I found a few great places but, they were mostly closed because of snow. I found one paved trail called the C & O Canal trail that said it was paved and that they try to keep up with snow removal. Frustrated as I was I decided to make the 30 minute drive and take my chances that it would be runnable. For some reason my WAZ GPS wasn’t working so I used the Google maps GPS to guide me. Well that was an ordeal as I drove through the city streets that were narrower than normal and when I finally got to the end of the route I was at an apartment complex with no trail insight. Instead of giving up, I switched over to WAZ and typed in the actual address (Google maps couldn’t find that) and it told me that I was 20 minutes away. I proceeded to follow and in 20 minutes I was parked under some type of overhang and it appeared I was there. Now I wasn’t sure which direction to run and thankfully 3 guys came running from one direction on the path and I was able to ask them if the trail went in the direction they came from? One of them said yes and I was gratefully relieved to have made it. The other great news was the trail was pretty much clear of snow! All said it took me over an hour to find the trail but, I was there, so I hit my Garmin start and immediately took off running. The C & O Canal trail is actually the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal trail that runs 184 miles along the Potomac. Like most trails it is a rail trail and has great historical significance for which I am sure is interesting. For me it was all about the running and I was grateful to have a clear path that made that easy. Eventually as I made my way along the Potomac I began to appreciate the beauty the trail and the peace surrounding me. Truly it was a wonderful trail to run on, fairly flat, well taken care of and a nice tranquility. I guess there are a number of locations you can pick it up and I actually may not have had to go as far as I did. I am actually pretty sure I was down in the Georgetown area. Anyhow, my run was not the best as I was working on an empty stomach which was not real smart for a guy that wanted to run 90 minutes. I eventually got to 45 minutes and turned around and decided to walk for a minute. I was starting to feel drained energy wise and I knew the return 45 minutes would be a challenge. I was right as each passing mile my entire body felt sore and tired. I managed to keep moving till mile 8 when I decided my only chance of finishing the 90 minutes was to walk for a couple minutes and give myself a breather. I got back moving with exactly 10 minutes on my watch and then willed myself through the final 10 minutes. Not easy but, I was pleased that I got my 90 minutes and over 9 miles of running in. I certainly want to and will go back to the C & O Canal trail but, I will have a better plan on getting there as well as be smarter about my nutrition. It was great to get out and I am glad that I am a little more adventurous than I use to be or I wouldn’t have attempted to even try something like this. If you are ever in the DC area this trail is a definitely must do! My legs are tired today but, it is a good tired! Time to head out to the base. Have a great day and get out and enjoy the weather! God Bless! Mike