Friday, October 13, 2006

BLADE: 26 miles @3:02, WOT

[This entry is ATF.]

Above is a map of the West Orlando Trail.

The night before, I had somewhat spontaneously planned on this mini-adventure for after my quick visit to Disney -- the West Orange Trail was something healthy and a chance to explore an unfamiliar part of Florida. From BV, I took the backroads, which was a refreshing drive. And it led me to Winter Garden and to a Publix where I picked up some lunch (chicken strips and papas). The people there were very friendly, and in the produce section, I swapped smiles with a super-hot cop -- for a moment, I considered moving to Winter Garden.

[hey... I was in a new town. I made good-and-proper eye contact with people, feeling totally confident. :) ]

After a detour into Clermont, I found the County-Line/Killarney Station, Mile 0 of the West Orange Trail. I bought a couple of GU's at the bike/blade shop&rental store, had my lunch, then took off onto the trail.

I was planning on blading 5 miles out, 5 miles back, but that went by so quickly, I decided to go to mile 7, then 9, then 13. The trail was beckoning me to go a little farther, a little farther, a little farther... there were changes of scenery: blading by people's backyards, through a small town, on country trails, behind a golf course... with every half-mile dutifully marked and posted. There were a number of places where I could fill my bottle back up with water, as well as plenty of benches along the way. I just couldn't help thinking about how Melbourne could really use a trail something like this.

Having bladed 2 miles at the most, I realized that I was semi-delusional to go for an impromptu inline marathon. My legs were rough on the way back and the last 6 miles were torture. I didn't stop though, and it was worth it -- 26 miles in 3:02 comes out to a 7:00-minute-mile [even] pace! I'd only have to do that and/or better for Disney next April. I'll have more training by then, and I'll probably have someone take a look at my shoes. I shouldn't be struggling that hard to maintain a 7-minute mile pace. Oh well.

The whole trip was a very nice one, especially when you were well-fed, well-hydrated, well-wornout, and have interacted with friendly andr super-attractive, smiling people. I stopped at a 7-11 on my way home an got myself a small, pink slushie. I passed out on the floor once I got home. It was a good day.

Here are some pictures from the trail:










And back to Mile 0:

0 comment(s):