Training Log - Thursday, April 7, 2011

I meet up with Richard at his house after work around 5:30PM. We both had taken a break yesterday, so we needed to get some miles in. We headed up Bankhead Parkway at a nice pace. Instead of heading up Tollgate Trail, we opted for Railroad Trail instead. When we entered Railroad Trail, we had a fantastic view of the trail (see below).



We continued down Railroad Trail until we turned onto the Alms House Trail that would conncet us to the Land Trust parking lot, where we would head to the Bluffline Trail all the way to High Trail. I wanted an opportunity to take a snapshot at the same location where I took a picture the day after christmas, when the trail was in full snow cover. Now that Spring had arrived, I wanted the "green" version of the same or similar picture for my blog and my desktop. The weather was perfect, in the high 60s. Richard was struggling a bit today, so when I continued on Bluffline Trail he opted for a shortcut hike to meet me once I got onto High Trail.

Once I entered Bluffline Trail, I decided to push a little. Boy, was that tough. Going up Bluffline from my direction was not an easy task for me. But once I got to the top and the High Trail connector, I got my opportunity to retake the "white christmas" version. I didn't get the exact same shot, but I think I got pretty close (see below).

When I finally regrouped with Richard, we headed doen High Trail until we connected with Tollgate Trail. From there, I was ready to push the pace again and crash down Tollgate until it dumps us out at the corner of Bankhead Parkway and Tollgate Road. We finished up the final 1.5 miles down the road for a nice 8 miles. Let's see what tomorrow brings. I definitely need to start hydrating more as the days get warmer. I think the cold days are finally gone.