And I ran, I ran so far away

Ah yes, the Flock of Seagulls were so right. In case you're wondering why I've been such a slacker with the blog updates, it's because I've been running... alot. Mandy and I are in our "peak" training weeks before our 50K. This week, we ran 60 miles which includes a 26-mile romp through Sky Meadows State Park. This is the most I've ever run in one week in all of my life.

The park is in Delaplane, VA and has about 8 miles of trails. We ended up having to run two loops around the trail and adding on on the Appalachian Trail to get to our 26. From the parking lot, the hills don't look too bad; of course, they never look bad until you actually have to climb them on foot.


There was a good mix of scenery including some wooded sections.


Once we made it over the 1000' climb, you got a great view from the top.

After running through a big, open meadow and down through the forest, you had to go through a cow pasture to get to the bottom of the hill. These steaks, er, cows were literally walking around us and watching like spectators.

Almost 7 hours later, we finished our run, drove home, showered, and celebrated with birthday beers for Mandy.