Seen on the run – The Running Nemophilist

Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail (August 30, 2020)

For a change of scenery, we did our long run on the Virginia Blue Ridge Railway Trail in Nelson County today. The trail is just under 14 miles round-trip, so we had to add some on to get the miles we needed, but that allowed us to stop back at the car and refill our water.

The parking lot was pretty empty when we got there a little before 8 and we had the trail mostly to ourselves for the first 10 miles or so.

The river meanders alongside the trail for several miles. There are picnic tables and benches and many places to access the river. I stopped to rinse the sweat off my hands and face near the end and it felt so good.

We saw many toads (some were teeny-tiny), butterflies, flowers and bicyclists and two very sweet ponies.

The morning started out nice and cool, but it was a humid 85 degrees by the time we finished. We both have quite a bit of nasty chafing to show for it, too.

Seen on the run (August 22, 2020)

Sweet potato on the run.

The trail was surprisingly quiet for a Saturday, which was really nice.

I used a public restroom for the first time since March.

My ankle started hurting about 13 miles in and Brian hadn’t brought enough water for the hot and humid morning, so we ended up cutting it short.

Seen on the run (July 11, 2020)

Sugar Hollow Loop

It’s been more than a year since I last ran this loop. It’s a tough one, but blue hole feels even more spectacular when you run 16 miles to get there.

Seen on the run (June 27, 2020)

South on the AT from Rockfish Gap

Not every run in the mountains is spectacular.

After a stressful week, today’s run just felt like a difficult slog through the heat.

It was still pretty, though.

Brian saw a bear. It was running towards him on the trail. I had stopped to take pictures and missed it.

Seen on the run (June 6, 2020)

Shenandoah National Park again.

Hot and humid but oh so pretty.

I got to swim at Blue Hole and had it all to myself. IMG_20200606_074942366 IMG_20200606_081005146_HDR IMG_20200606_105821252 IMG_20200606_090914334 Screenshot_20200606-133509

Seen on the run (May 30, 2020)

More time in Shenandoah National Park included flowers, many river crossings and efts, an almost-stepped-upon snake and my first swimming hole plunge of the year. IMG_20200530_102414582 IMG_20200530_102030519_HDR IMG_20200530_082233630 IMG_20200530_080749868 Plus some very tired legs.