Greenbelt Park Perimeter Trail or 5.3 miles of Pleasure

Ever since my run in California where I got semi-lost in the canyons near our apt in La Jolla I have wanted to try running trails again. Of course you always hear that asphalt is the worst thing to run on (besides sidewalks, but who runs on sidewalks? Where there is sidewalk, there is road) but I've been happy to get off my treadmill and run around the asphalted every .2 miles marked 1.35 mile track around Lake Artemesia. And I do love that run, it's beautiful. It just requires going around 5 times to get in an hour of run time. So I finally searched this morning for running trails in College Park area and was so happy to see that Greenbelt Park has a trail that goes around it's entire perimeter, not just the little 1 mile trails we usually do as a family. I was unsure how much time it would take to run 5.3 miles of true trail stuff, but it was just under an hour like my lake runs, so that's good news. I didn't see anyone on the trail the whole way around but I felt very safe. I almost ran into a deer, or at least it felt like it, since the deer only moved about 10 feet away when I came running up, and then it just kept staring at me. It was beautiful. The trail was so fun to run, and now I know why in Chi Running it says that trail running is the best for working on your form, especially to learn how to pick up your feet instead of pushing off with them. I've been running the Middle School track last week during Joyschool and my calves were getting tight, and staying tight after running. They feel better now after my trail run than they did before I started. Amazing. Something so kid-like in bobbing around over roots and rocks and stuff. Much more fun to run. At least for now, it's something new, and I like it. So if you want a fun run leave your kids with me and go take an hour at the perimeter trail, you'll love it!