An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

I have been getting excited by the somewhat warmer temps and longer days. So Monday I decided to go running in the morning for the first time in what feels like forever. My hope was that there had been sufficient melting on the W&OD trail to make it runnable. It was already getting light when I headed out the door at 6:20 – a nice change from the depths of winter. A brief toddle across the ice at Mad Manor park got me to blissfully clear (for the most part) blacktop on the trail. I was thrilled! Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived, for it turned out that only about ½ mile of the trail was passable. I guess the heat from the highway helped with melting, for the trail got completely snowy and icy starting at milepost 4 – just where it veers away from the road. Well, a half mile of trail is better than none at all, so I just ran that stretch again and again until I reached my desired distance. It was nice to be exercising outside for a change. I’m glad I took the opportunity ...

It's easy to be seduced into staying indoors in the winter. On those cold, dark mornings, why not exercise in the warmth of the basement, TV and Hulu at hand to provide entertainment, nothing heavier than a T-shirt and shorts required? Being a cold wimp, I often give in to this logic, however I do remind myself from time to time that the outdoors offers rewards to offset frozen fingers and runny noses. Yesterday we had another near-record snowfall here in DC. The official measure at National Airport was about 18", however I can easily measure over two feet at places around the house - particularly where there was still snow on the ground from Wednesday's snowfall (what is this, Michigan??). It's not often that Northern Virginia is this skiable and I've been taking advantage of it. Wednesday morning I went out cross-country skiing for about an hour before heading to work, and yesterday some friends and I did about 3 1/2 hours on the W&OD trail. I have a coup...