Trail Runs

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been running on the trails the last few weeks.
Several 3 or 4 mile runs with Karma, and then a few longer stints.

Met up with Kim, Anna, Nedra, JJ and Jo Dee for a point to point 10 mile run on the greenbelt. We started at moonshadow and made our way down to Barton Springs. It's probably my favorite 10 mile run, as there's something more fun about running to a location instead of running in a circle, or an out and back, only to return your starting point. A little under a 2 hour adventure filled with plenty of stops to check things out, and refill our water bottles.

I also met up with Kerry and Jo Dee for a trip down to Bastrop State Park. The drive took around 40-45 minutes. Not too bad for a nice change of scenery. The trails down there are inside of a 17,000 acre park that they control-burn every 4-5 years to limit the ground brush from spreading. (hence the burnt bark on the tree).
The trails are pretty easy going, some minor hills, and the ground is nice and soft with actual sand at parts, but mostly long pine needles covering the ground to run on. A total of 8.5 miles followed by a return drive to Austin, and a tasty mexican food lunch (and Margaritas) to celebrate our day-trip accomplishment.

Here are a few pictures of Bastrop State Park. Note how the landscape is vastly different than the rocky trails I usually run on. (click to enlarge pics)