MTB Project -Trail Maps Online

I was at the local bike shop and the man who worked there told me about this site.....MTBproject.com....he was almost giddy telling me about it, claiming it would change my life! no kidding! I am so in love with this free site. It even comes with an app so that it can be accesses while on the trails (see bottom left app). 

While on the app you can see all local trails near you and see yourself on the map. Plus prior users have all uploaded tons of photos and reviews about each trail, also accessible on the app. 

Here is the local trail. The one I ran with Nora yesterday. I ran, she biked. 

Epic 16 Miler Planned for tomorrow's long run...battling fears

            I am getting ready for an epic 16-miler run for tomorrow through the towns of North Springfield, Burke, and Annandale. I will be running on three nature trails, Lake Accotink, Wakefield Park and Mill Creek Park. I cannot wait!! Seeing as I am staring before sunrise, there is one thing that's always a part of my planning, safety. I am pretty sure safety, in terms of rapes and abductions, is not an aspect most men have to consider much when planning their epic 16-miler, while for most pre-sunrise solo running female, this is a HUGE part of our planning. 
               I was telling my hubby just today that for some reason I feel much more unsafe here in the suburbs that I ever did running in Washington, DC. Perhaps it's my own bias; I may have seen too many horror movies, and in most of them random killers come from way out in the the suburbs or even further away from rural areas where they could easily shack up in a family member's basement, pay no rent and do their evil deeds in the total privacy of their secluded location. In the city, on the other hand, I have always believed, and maybe falsely, that it's merely impossible to just live in the city without a job, and anyone with a job therefore is less likely to abduct or rape random runners in secluded areas. I know, I know, all this ridiculousness is a huge absurd list of assumptions and fear all rolled into one. But, logic is a very weak opponent once fear has taken hold. 

       No matter what my fears tell me I have long ago chosen not to be dominated by my fears. The familiar quiet streets I now run on and the quiet dance of extended shadows of my slow moving body which accompany me on each pre-sunrise run are part of what makes this MY run.  One naturally develops a deep familiarity with the streets one most often runs on and that helps one feel more at ease, out there in the dark. 

          

                 

Map My Run APP.......cannot run without it!!

                                I use MapMyRun app, the free version, to measure my overall distance. Since I am not officially 'training' for any race I have become somewhat relaxed about measuring every single aspect of my workout. I am also aware, from using it during several races that it's a bit off; meaning the measurement of miles is a bit less than the true miles you might be running. But the difference is minimal, and the benefits of the service FAR outweighs this little issue. For those of you who might have not used it before, MapMyRun uses your smart phone's GPS to locate where you are. It can show you exactly where you are on a map. My favorite feature is being able to predetermine a route and visually following my coordinates from the phone. I did this on my most recent trail run in which there were no street names, but because I have set the coordinates from home, I was able to follow my pre-set  route on a map. There are tons of other features such as  

pace, ability to adjust your lap distance, ability to share your results on various social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook, elevation charts, average pace....and lots, lots more....what do you use?

This is what the APP looks like

This is the home screen