Spring Creatures

I ran a very easy 5 miles on Thursday morning before doing more odds and ends around the Fox Den. Later I went to Home Depot and bought plants (huh?) to fancy up my balcony. Now instead of a concrete slab, my balcony has a garden-like atmosphere. At 4 in the afternoon, I ran 9 up the Rock Creek Trail with Jordan. The section of bike path between Randolph Road and Lake Needwood is my favorite part of the 14-mile trail. It's fairly desolate and nice to look at. Yesterday we spied an owl. I can't say I felt too great during the run though. It might have been a combination of the heat, the odd time of day when I was running and the mile in my legs. I was happy when I finished. 14 for the day.

On Friday morning Karl and I ran in "glorious" (per Karl) running conditions from Riley's Lock. The sun was warm but not too hot and there was little to no wind. Everything appeared to sparkle on this fine spring day...however, it's that time of year again - snake season! When we hooked off the Towpath onto Hunting Quarter Road, we decided to take a left instead of the usual right. From here we ventured out to a small swamp road that brought us past meadows and bogs. On one such footpath we came upon 3 water snakes coiling about in a Medusa-like manner. We scoffed at the snakes then continued on our way. We also happened upon a plethora of frogs, turtles and water fowl. Aside from a 1/4 mile on River Road, the entire run was on natural terrain. Great run, but my legs are still tired. I am probably doing too much, too soon after the 10 miler. 11.5 for the day.