It has been a long time since I have hiked or cycled the Stony Valley Rail Trail. My friend, Laura, was the one who first showed me this trail and we explored various sections – especially the abandoned town of Rausch Gap. The Appalachian Trail also goes through this area so there are miles of hiking and cycling that can be done. I have been looking for new places to take my nephew bike camping so Kevin and I grabbed our bikes one sunny day and headed out to see if there were any campsites near the trail that we could get to with our bikes.
Year: 2018
One Day Hike
I think I first heard of the One Day Hike from reading other blogs. It is a non-competitive hike that is held every year. People start at about 3 AM in Washington DC and hike up the C&O Canal ending just past Harpers Ferry, WV. They have until midnight to complete their hike. There is also a 30 mile option. I wasn’t feeling adventurous enough to try either of those yet, so I saw they needed bike patrol volunteers. This is something I wanted to try for a long time. I often see cyclists at races, biking the course with runners. Honestly, half the time that I am doing a race I am wishing for my bike anyway – so this seems like a pretty good compromise! I contacted Frank, the coordinator, and requested a shift.
Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
Getting into the Cherry Blossom 10 miler in DC isn’t easy – you have to put your name into a lottery because there are so many people that want to do the run and then names are randomly selected. I tried to get in last year, but wasn’t picked so I was very excited when I got the email a few months ago that I would be running this year. The cherry blossoms were supposed to be in peak bloom for the run – something that I don’t think has happened the last few years, and the weather was supposed to be chilly but sunny. So why did I drop down to the 5k?
ERRANDONNEE 2018
I was able to complete the Errandonnee 2018 challenge this year! Basically you need to complete 12 errands by bike from 7 different categories – while cycling a minimum of 30 miles. You have 12 days in March to complete this challenge – so of course I procrastinated and did it in 2 days!
Philly Love Run Half Marathon
After the Phillies 5k, Kevin dropped me off at the Philly Convention Center so I could get my packet for the Philly Love Run – another race that I was supposed to do last year, but couldn’t because of my heel injury. I never realized how large the convention center was and had to wander around until I figured out where I was supposed to go. There was not a lot of people so I was able to get my packet fairly quickly – you also get a really nice tech shirt (which if you are ordering the women’s size – keep in mind they run very small) and a mug. I wandered around the rest of the expo, but there is never anything I need/want so I headed to my hotel for the night.
I really wanted to find the famous LOVE statue and noticed that my walk should take me right by it. I did have some trouble spotting it at first, but finally found it in a far corner of Love Park. I was really surprised at how small the statue was. For some reason I thought it was taller than the average person standing next to it…and while it was TALLER, it was raised up on a pedestal so people could stand under it and a lot smaller than I imagined. There was also a huge line that I didn’t feel like waiting in so I just strategically took photos which cropped the people out.
Phillies Charities 5K
I was FINALLY able to complete the Phillies Charities 5K this year (after not being able to do it last year due to my heel issues). I was so excited to be around thousands of other Phillies fans and MOST excited to be able to walk a lap around the warning track and look up into the stands…
Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site
Last summer on a road trip with my Dad we visited a little known place called Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site in Blairsville, Georgia. These petrolgyphs, or rock carvings, were done over a thousand years ago and it is one of the most significant rock art sites in the southeastern United States.
Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site
Track Rock Gap Petroglyph Site
Audible Contest Results
Well it’s been a few months since JoJo and I entered the Audible 20 contest to win a new 2018 Volvo XC60… did we make it to the final round and win?
runDisney Marathon Weekend FULL MARATHON – Florida part 8
The FINAL day of the Dopey Challenge was the Disney marathon – and it started off with a BANG! No really – each wave is sent off by fireworks and they were especially awesome for the marathon. I was running a little late, but managed to give myself a pep-talk on the way to my coral. I had no idea how this day was going to turn out – was I going to get swept? Was I going to make it?
runDisney Marathon Weekend HALF MARATHON – Florida Part 7
The 3rd day of the Dopey Challenge during marathon weekend at Disney World was the HALF MARATHON! I have run 13 miles, but never in a race – and this run was ESPECIALLY exciting because I would get to run through the castle in the Magic Kingdom! I had been dreaming about running through the castle since I first heard of the runDisney races. After looking at numerous beautiful pictures and videos of happy people running out the front of the castle I was so ready to have one of those amazing photos to call my own…unfortunately my castle moment wasn’t quite how I thought it would be…
blisters and bug bites 