Semi-adventure Run

Another Friday has come, and I took a semi-adventure run. Semi-adventure run? Yeah, I went out Money Road and made a couple of detours. I learned a thing or two. It wasn't as profound as my run out by the catfish processing plant, but it was still nice.

Hey, I got out early. I finally learned that once I start that first cup of coffee, I'm not leaving the house until it is all gone. So I got up a bit earlier than when I do to go to work, ate breakfast, and started getting ready. I was running by 6:23. At that time of morning, it is still about half dark now. The nights are now much longer, and the air has more time to cool off. It was 68 degrees cool when I began shuffling towards Money Road. 

Once on the Road, I exhulted in the coolness. If you are thinking 68 is not cool, try running all summer in the mid to high 90s. And we have had some crazy dew points this year. I have done a lot of running with heat indexes in the triple digits. Now even temps in the 80s feel great.

The gravel road at Craigside

When I got to Craigside, I made a spur of the moment decision to turn right onto the gravel road. I have little experience with this road. I think I once drove through in my truck, and maybe I once ran about 100 meters on it. This time, I knew I didn't have time to go all the way through. But I wanted to run some of it, and I went about a mile and a bit before I turned around. While out there, I saw what looked like some hunting camps and a really pretty tupelo gum break.

It doesn't show clearly in the photo, but there
is a pretty little Tupelo gum break in there.

Back on Money Road, I turned north for about a half mile in order to get some more distance. When I turned around and went back south, I determined to take to the turnrows once I got to the church, Little Zion, where that singer who sold his soul to the devil is buried. Having tried and failed to get to the church on turnrows in the past, I was hoping to be able to run through from the church to some roads I knew.

I found myself on a nice road beside the river, which was lined by some really tall timber. Slowly, I wend my way farther and farther from the highway and was eventually faced with a choice: keep following the river or turn inward. I chose to turn, and eventually I began to zig and zag on what I presumed were property lines because each time the road zigged, there was a big post with a bucket on top. 

The road beside the river. This is nice running.

You guessed it. Eventually, I came to some roads I knew, and I made my way back to the highway at the radio station. I turned back north for a bit more distance. When I turned back south, it was to go straight home. I was like a well-cooked steak: done. I stepped onto my wife's driveway with 18.83 footmiles: 13.35 running and 5.48 miles walking. Enough. Some fun. Learned a little. A few nice sights. Thank you, Jesus.