In case you couldn't tell from the title, my weekend was consumed with being outside and in the woods. The weather was fabulous!! I couldn't have hoped for anything nicer. It was perfect timing for my Friday off. I decided that I was going to revisit a place that I had been mtn. biking a long time ago. Now that I have been back there, it baffles me as to why I have not been there in about 4 years...
Fountainhead Park is a neat spot along the Occoquan river about 45 minutes from my place in Arlington. There is a hiking trail that starts/ends there and goes all the way up to Bull Run Park near Centerville. It is about 18 miles long. There are no bikes allowed on that trail. The bikes have their own trails which are awesome. At about 5 miles, it is a shorter loop than Schaeffer Farms where I like to go in MD, but these trails are much more vigorous and I got a much better workout. I only had one minor issue, after I had crossed one of the bridges, there was a root parallel to the way I was going, but the trail turned. My front tire hit it and slid out and I landed on my elbow. But it was just a bruise and a cut, nothing major.
After a gorgeous day on the trail on Friday, I decided that I would head back there on Saturday morning to ride. But this time I was going to do a brick workout. That is where you do 2 different training workouts back to back. I rode about 1 1/3 loops of the trail and then threw my bike and stuff in the car and went out for a trail run on the hiking trail for about 4 miles. I realized as I was turning around at 2 miles, that I hadn't eaten enough that morning and it was going to be a haul back to the car. I survived and felt pretty good actually. Once I got a gatorade from the drink machine. I think I am going to have to make that a standard workout... And I only had one crashing issue on Sat. I was carrying a good amount of speed down a hill towards a log jump that I managed fine on Fri., so I didn't slow down. Ooops. Over the handlebars I went, landing on my camelback. Just a few scratches on the leg, nothing big at all. Kinda fun looking back on it!
Then on Sunday, I volunteered to help out as a course marshall for the Potomac Velo Club's race at Greenbrier Park up near Hagerstown, MD. I didn't have to do a whole lot of work, fortunately nobody crashed badly or went off course in my spots. I did a lot of cheering people on and watching the racing. I even got a chance to ride a bit of the course, and wow, is it a tough one! The morning started out pretty cool, but by noon it had warmed up nicely. I would have like to have been riding with everyone else, but I was glad to be out there ready to provide support to people if they needed it. Plus I got to be out in the woods in a beautiful area watching a sport that I love.
In addition to all the outdoor stuff I did this weekend, I had a nice time Friday night meeting a new friend for a drink and then a trip to the Shakespeare Theater to see The Persians. It was a show unlike anything that I have ever seen in the theater. It is supposedly the oldest surviving play, written in about 472 B.C., and was only about an hour and 20 minutes long. But within that short time is a very powerful play. Then Sat. night I took it easy and had dinner in Shirlington and watched some TV at home. After I got back from the race on Sunday, I took the usual position on the couch to be lazy and watch more TV. Oh well, I had a pretty active weekend, so I felt like it was justified.
Fountainhead Park is a neat spot along the Occoquan river about 45 minutes from my place in Arlington. There is a hiking trail that starts/ends there and goes all the way up to Bull Run Park near Centerville. It is about 18 miles long. There are no bikes allowed on that trail. The bikes have their own trails which are awesome. At about 5 miles, it is a shorter loop than Schaeffer Farms where I like to go in MD, but these trails are much more vigorous and I got a much better workout. I only had one minor issue, after I had crossed one of the bridges, there was a root parallel to the way I was going, but the trail turned. My front tire hit it and slid out and I landed on my elbow. But it was just a bruise and a cut, nothing major.
After a gorgeous day on the trail on Friday, I decided that I would head back there on Saturday morning to ride. But this time I was going to do a brick workout. That is where you do 2 different training workouts back to back. I rode about 1 1/3 loops of the trail and then threw my bike and stuff in the car and went out for a trail run on the hiking trail for about 4 miles. I realized as I was turning around at 2 miles, that I hadn't eaten enough that morning and it was going to be a haul back to the car. I survived and felt pretty good actually. Once I got a gatorade from the drink machine. I think I am going to have to make that a standard workout... And I only had one crashing issue on Sat. I was carrying a good amount of speed down a hill towards a log jump that I managed fine on Fri., so I didn't slow down. Ooops. Over the handlebars I went, landing on my camelback. Just a few scratches on the leg, nothing big at all. Kinda fun looking back on it!
Then on Sunday, I volunteered to help out as a course marshall for the Potomac Velo Club's race at Greenbrier Park up near Hagerstown, MD. I didn't have to do a whole lot of work, fortunately nobody crashed badly or went off course in my spots. I did a lot of cheering people on and watching the racing. I even got a chance to ride a bit of the course, and wow, is it a tough one! The morning started out pretty cool, but by noon it had warmed up nicely. I would have like to have been riding with everyone else, but I was glad to be out there ready to provide support to people if they needed it. Plus I got to be out in the woods in a beautiful area watching a sport that I love.
In addition to all the outdoor stuff I did this weekend, I had a nice time Friday night meeting a new friend for a drink and then a trip to the Shakespeare Theater to see The Persians. It was a show unlike anything that I have ever seen in the theater. It is supposedly the oldest surviving play, written in about 472 B.C., and was only about an hour and 20 minutes long. But within that short time is a very powerful play. Then Sat. night I took it easy and had dinner in Shirlington and watched some TV at home. After I got back from the race on Sunday, I took the usual position on the couch to be lazy and watch more TV. Oh well, I had a pretty active weekend, so I felt like it was justified.
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