Tuesday December 17, 2009 / 10:00 am

USAFA Cadet Trail
Distance: 5.1 miles
Time: @ 53 minutes

With the warm weather we have had lately, the snow has melted from flat, sunny spaces fairly well. Today, I wanted a nice run without the snow. I've hit that each weekend and fear more is on the way as fall turns to winter next week here in Colorado. With that in mind, I talked Tracey into running around the Academy grounds with me.

We met at the North entrance parking lot and then carpooled to the second overlook of the athletic fields. The weather was great - breezy, warm in the 40s and sunny. Capris and a long sleeve shirt (with a short sleeve underneath) was all I needed. That, and my bottle of water. Even if I don't need it, I like carrying it just to get used to the weight of it.

We took off toward the mountains and ran along the apron of Academy Drive. Most of the apron is groomed, tiny gravel and dirt and very nice to run on. This course is rolling hills and circles the cadet area from the athletic side to Sijan and Mitchell halls. Almost all of it is groomed and labeled Cadet Trail; however, once we rounded around Mitchell hall, and headed around the education building (can't remember that hall's name) we hit the Falcon Trail for a bit before it was back on the Cadet Trail. When the trail turned toward the Field House, we continued along Parade Loop to hop back on Academy Drive and our overlook above the athletic area.

The course was almost exactly five miles and will make a great loop for running longer distances and needing stops for refueling. I think it will be a perfect one for Collegiate Peaks training; it is similar in its terrain.

Running with a friend is great therapy. I don't realize how much I miss running with a female friend at times until Tracey and I get together. We talk about our kids, our spouses, our mothers, and question what we are doing with our lives. Most of the time, we just listen to each other and commiserate.

After races, those runs together are for the post race recaps. We tell each other about the details of a race: how her foot felt, how the wind bites, what it was like at the turn or mile 13, how the downhill was bliss and the uphill torture, things that other runners understand and want to know. Afterwards, it back to our lives til we run together again.