Stories from the trail

I have a few regular routes that I normally run. I pick these routes because they are safe and comfortable. One of my favorites is the Rail Trail.  I haven't been going to the Rail Trail as often as I would like for two reasons. 1) It's a farther drive than my other routes. It's not far, but my other routes are closer, that's all.   2) I don't feel the need to go if I'm not running long distance. The trail is great for long distance running as you can easily do 18 miles on it. You can do more if you deviated off the trail and loop through some of the neighborhoods along it. This was my route during the two marathons I trained for.

On Friday,  it was warm and sunny all day and I couldn't wait to get out for a run when work was over. On the way home it started to rain and by the time I got home I had noticed the rain had significantly cooled things off.  I had to run some errands near the trail, so I thought why not make an evening of it.  I put on a pair of running capris, a tank, and debated on whether or not to bring my windbreaker in case it started to rain again.  Because I putzed around at the house, I didn't get to the trail till around 6:00 pm.


I decided to mix things up a bit. Because my errands were at the other end of town, I decided to park at the trail head that was 5 miles into the trail. I've never done this before.  I've of course ran down this  way before, but never started here.  Because I haven't been running long distances lately, I haven't been down this way in a while. (I'm not saying 5 miles is long distance, but 10 miles is and that's what I would have had to be running to get here : 5 miles up and 5 miles back.

Anyway, as I got out of my car, I just had to take a minute tp look at how lovely things are here. It really started making me excited for Fall but I quickly realized I was SO completely overdressed!
The rain may have cooled things down for a bit, but it got real hot real fast. And I'm in pants/capris.


  Since it was already 6pm, I was wondering how many miles I could "safely" run before it gets dark. If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you've quickly realized that I don't always make the best decisions when it comes to running. When I come to run, I stay on the trail and get it done regardless of daylight or weather situations. Well, I'm changing my ways and want to be a more "responsible runner"!

Well, apparently the "responsible runner" was not starting today! After doing a very speedy first mile, I quickly realized that I forgot my water bottle at home.  I was already overheated from wearing these black pants and now knowing that I would not have any water waiting for when I got back to the car made me nervous.  Because I  still had to get my errands done after this run, I decided to stop at only two. I am not calling this run a "wimp out" run though because they were 2 of the fasted miles I've run in a long time. The second was even faster than the first, which hardly ever happens!

Check out some of the things I've seen on the trail.

Behind this sign was a little hut with drinks and goodies. I did not bring any money with me so I did not have anything but I noticed they had Oreo Whoopie Pies. I've never had an Oreo flavored one before but it sounds yummy. If you are not from the East Coast I realize you may not know what a Whoopie pie is.  Even though I didn't have anything, I thought this was nice to see.


I saw this little guy too. I've seen him before.  He's a miniature pony. Although I don't know where he lives during the night, during the day his family ties him on a rope out in front of their yard, kind of like a dog. (But let it be known I would never tie my dog out on a rope).  Anyway, I find it rather odd. The rope isn't even that long either. I wonder if they do it just to entertain the people using the trail?  One of these days I want to go up an pet him but I suppose I should seek permission first.

Even though I only spent a short amount of time here, it is making me excited to spend more time here this fall.   -M

What did you see along your last run? Have you ever had a Whoopie pie?

                                            We will be linking up with the gals from TOTR.

21 comments:

  1. I rarely run in the evening and if I do, it's just in my neighborhood. I can only imagine the stuff I'd see on my trails at that time of day!

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    1. During the week I can't bring myself to run in the morning so late afternoon/evening runs are what I do. There seem to be more people out then!

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  2. People watching and the occasional out of control pigeon are all I have to speak for on my runs. I wish someone would hand me a root beer and an oreo Whoopie Pie...

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  3. I never run in the evening just too tired by then! Last week I did see a guy on a unicycle though

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  4. Running in the dark on a trail would make me nervous too. I'm glad you made the decision to stop and call it! The trail sounds so nice! On Saturday, I was debating what to do once I have those big mile days like 18 and 20...I will have to run around town but make several loops and that gets boring!

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    1. It never did get dark while I was there. I was just being cautious..lol

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  5. Seeing a pony along the trail is kind of fun but yeah, short rope! One of the trails I run has a house with a really big yard so you only see the back of the property and they have large, scary dogs inside a highly invisible fence. The first time they came bolting up I nearly crapped my pants.

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  6. What fun scenery for your run! I love passing different things and that sign is too cute. Yes, I know what whoopie pies are - and I've even baked them before! I made traditional chocolate ones but also made pumpkin ones one fall. I didn't realize they were regional! But I'm from NY and live in Cleveland, so maybe that's why.

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    1. I bet different areas probably have different versions of them.

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  7. I try to be a responsible runner but I never run with water. Not the best idea but I don't like to drink when I run. On long runs I have to force myself to drink! I love whoopie pies and the oreo sounds great!

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  8. Those treats are SOOO not good to have when you're trying to burn calories on a run ;) haha
    I dont THINK I've had a whoopie pie. Maybe? I had one one time that I thought was, but it was HORRIBLE. DISGUSTING. So I'm just going to say it wasnt a whoopie pie & I need to try another one.

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  9. I have a 3-mile loop in my neighborhood, and I'll be using it a lot during my weekday training runs. Vegas is the weekend after we fall back an hour, so I'm hoping I'll be able to do all my runs outside, without it getting dark so soon. Those last two runs I think are both 2 miles, which I can get done quickly.

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  10. I actually saw a tiny raccoon the other morning when I was out walking...he scampered away as soon as he (she?) caught sight of me. I'm not from the south, but am very much aware of the Whoopie Pies LOL

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  11. What a beautiful trail! That looks completely awesome. I saw the heron again on my run today; apparently he's made that little lake his home (along with the geese & the ducks).

    And an oreo whoopie pie sounds awfully good!

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  12. It looks so pretty! I'm glad you have somewhere safe like that to run. I don't even know what time it gets dark these days... But soon it's going to be so depressing when it's dark at like 5:30pm!

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  13. You definitely have a pretty (and interesting) trail to run. But, I feel sorry for the pony... We have Moon Pies. Is that the same thing?

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  14. I really start to looove running again once fall comes. I bet that trail will be beautiful in a couple of weeks! I seriously won't run at all if it's even remotely starting to get dark outside. I'm kind of a horror movie freak and I think I've seen one too many, lol. I've been running near the beach all summer and kick myself every time because I always forget to bring money, because every weekend it seems like there's some sort of festival with delicious goodies I would have loved to treat myself with afterwards!

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  15. Whoopie pies were my favorite treat at the Farm to Fork Fondo - fresh made ones are best of course! Love that little snack hut!

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  16. I've definitely been caught on a trail in rain near dusk and OH MAN did it get dark quickly! I feel like I sprinted the last mile of that run because I was so scared! Ooops - guess I wasn't a responsible runner either that day!

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Fairytales and Fitness is a personal blog authored and edited by us, Meranda and Lacey. The thoughts expressed here represent only our own and are not meant to be taken as professional advice. Please note that our thoughts and opinions change from time to time. We consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind in an ever changing society. Any thoughts and opinions expressed within our out-of-date posts may not be the same, nor even similar, to those we may express today. Some links may contain affiliate links. Some links are just to pages we'd like to share.