When I go to the Asheville area to run - I usually end up running some of the time - in the Bent Creek Area. Really amazing place. The area itself has extensive trails, and it connects to the Botanical Gardens; the blue ridge parkway; the Shut-in trail, and many other places.
Saturday, after feeling ill in the morning and missing the Dupont 1/2, I dragged myself out of bed at 12:30!! (fortunately my hostess had a significant amount of work to do), and off we went to Bent Creek! Since spring had come, I had been craving some time in this area, and my friend had prepared quite the adventure. We started near the Hard Times parking lot and headed up the Renegade trail towards the blue ridge parkway & the Shut in. My still recovering lungs failed me on the way up. My legs were moving, but I had to stop and walk 2X because of the lungs... When we reached the Blue Ridge Parkway, I bent over and felt so out of shape. To my dismay, we were only at about 2900 feet in elevation. My lungs were screaming and my heart was pounding. I wondered how many miles I could actually take. But, as is my custom, after I warmed up, I took off. We cruised over to the Shut in and ran there for a couple of miles before continuing our loop in the area. We returned to the car sunburned, tired and full of smiles.the 2 hours had been a good session to break in the aerobic capacity for spring running!
Sunday - I was by myself - the friend had to go into to work. Of course, I forgot my camera, but I was able to take some pretty good phone photos, which I was able to load. I was tired from Saturday, but the blue sky and still cool air were enough to keep me in the Bent Creek area, again, for about 1.5 hours. I started on Road 491, and followed the Ingles Field Gap trail to the 5 corners area. From there, I went a little higher, until, again, the lungs screamed at me to stop... ay yi yi. Here are the pics - ENJOY!! Such a great weekend. I hope everyone, at least, got some sunshine!
No comments:
Post a Comment