May 3rd, 2008 oh no.. i meant 2009

I was running along on the parkway trail just below where the secret hotel is located when i spotted these orange flowers.   I have no idea what they are called except to tell you they were about a half a cup in size and orange as an orange.  Pretty cool.  (the flowers grew on a tree)

ps:  the black snakes are back in the trees again.  I look up in the trees and see them hanging there.. in the rain.. ok.. gotta find another job..  cant be running with snakes hanging over my head..

Today i ran about 23 miles for about 3.75 hours of running.  Given i am not sure it could be less or a bit more.  The run started off in heavy rain with all the green screaming bright colors of green.  I loved how the water dripped from the rim of my ball cap.  At one point it rained so hard i could not see more then two feet in front of me.  The warm air kept me warm but the rain makes me feel like i was in the shower.  I always wanted to run in the shower.  

I started off at the parking lot near the entrance to the park.  Ran the connector over to the 479a trail.  From the 479a trail i went up sleepy gap to the parkway then back down given i am a weak old man in need of a bit of rest.  I then took 479a all the way to another entrance to the parkway trail and stayed on the parkway trail for about 5 miles before turning around.  The trail is super thin but wow.. it was amazing in color and life.  

I have decided to take a teeny little kmart camera up there one day next week and photograph the one section of the trail that super rocks.  I will post the pictures on the blog.  Heck maybe i will do that monday given i dont plan on running monday.  

The return trip was a bit rougher.  The rain makes your shoes weight a ton and before you know it you start to feel the effects of heavy shoes.  I had no good water and no food so the body started to get really up set around mile 18.   The last mile was pure torture, legal kind, and by the time i returned to the car there was nothing left of my body.  

The total for the week is 85 or 5 miles short of my goal of a 90 mile week.  However, i did managed to get in 3 days of hard work out in the gym so maybe that counts.  

enjoy..