Trails

We ran in Greenbelt Park again, along the Perimeter Trail. As we ran along, there was an audible crunch with each footstep sinking into the partially iced snow. This was our first experience of snowy winter forest trails. The woods were serene, barren trees standing in the snow as we two runners glided along the paths easily.

On the down hill portions of the trail, I experimented with just letting go, letting the gravity pull me down at a sprint. I remembered seeing a high school cross country team in Rogue River, Oregon train in a park by the river. The kids would throw themselves with abandon over an embankment, seemingly immune to injury. I thought those days were over for me long ago. Yet, after two years and nearly 3,000 miles of training, I feel strong enough to do just the same. The feeling was exhilarating, coming up on my toes, shortening and quickening my stride, and flying down hill along the snowy trail. Twenty four hours ago, weighted down my stress I regretted a missed run. Today, I celebrated fitness on a cold winter day in a Maryland park.