500 MILES!

Thursday evening I went  for a 6 mile run in Wekiwa Springs in the dark with no moon, just my headlight.  Sandy doesn't like me to do that and it is a bit scary but exhilarating.  Friday morning I did a 12 mile ride on the trails as we were going to the Albin Polasek Museum & Home in Winter Park early.  I was going for a long bike ride this morning but the Litespeed had a flat and I didn't feel like riding the Trek so I took out on the Salsa and went into the Park.  Stopped about mile 12 to watch 2 buck deer chasing 3 does in the big open area on the north end.  As I started out again, I checked my bike computer and discovered I had just passed 500 miles on the bike!  That's all trail riding since I got the Salsa in May.  Still love it; every ride is an adventure.

Magic Full Moon Run

With the end of Daylight Savings Time on Sunday morning, darkness now begins around 6:00. I rushed home Wednesday evening to do a long run under the full moon.  I planned on running 6.2 miles in Wekiwa Springs State Park as early as possible.  I grabbed my headlamp, a new 200 lumen mini-flashlight, my reflective belt, the Garmin GPS, and my park pass and headed out at 5:55.  As I entered the park, the canopy of oak trees made the road even darker and I was grateful for the pool of light from my headlamp on the road ahead of me. 

By the time I reached the base of the big hill at mile 1.3, it was quite dark.  Off to my right, a owl hooted to it's mate with no response.  As I approached the campground entrance, my light picked up tiny glittering green lights in the grass by the road's edge.  At first I thought it was dewsparkle but upon crouching in the gravel, I realized what I was seeing were the eyes of small ground spiders.  I soon reached the open area by the Sand Lake parking lot, which was bathed in the full moon's light.  I turned off my headlight and ran a short distance in the moonlight.  I turned it back on as I rounded the lot at 2.7 miles for the run back.  Glancing into the woods to my left, I was surprised by a pair of glowing eyes watching me, about 4 feet from the ground.  I flicked on my new flashlight and realized it was a deer watching me about 20 yards off the road.  Running back past the campground brought me the smell of woodsmoke and campfires visible through the trees. 

Leaving the park, I did a little additional mileage to finish my run at 6.23 miles with a time of 1:05 under the shining moon.  I grabbed my camera and took the photo above.  This was a lot of fun and I'll definitely do it again.