Even with phone applications of Nike+, Map My Ride, Mapquest, and a GPS, I can get lost on a trail. It’s amazing how consistently I can do this. I have absolutely no sense of direction.

As children, safely trapped in the back of the station wagon with books and no seat belts, my mom would often sing out “We are on an adventure!” cluing us in to the fact once again, we were lost. The origin of my directionally-challenged handicap is easily determined

Peggy Wolfe – expert adventurer

Setting out on my run yesterday, a flat and easy three-miles was in the plan since my calf has been bugging me for a few weeks. Ice and cross-training had helped so now I was ready to start jogging and see if the nagging injury was healed.

When I left the horse trail after having scared a young deer into the woods, I had to make a relatively easy decision: go right for a relatively flat run by the lake since I am in calf-healing and strengthening mode or go straight up Center Trail, a rocky and hilly path more likely to stress the whole healing mode-vibe.

There’s a great view on the top of the Center Trail hill and it called to me. “Victoria…you can do it! Don’t worry about your calf muscle or Achilles or whatever…no big deal!” In all honesty, it wasn’t the calf injury I was thinking about but the fact that the last two times I ran up Center Trail, I got lost in the maze of trails on the backside and ended up running far more than I planned. What the heck. I decided to go straight. And the view was beautiful on this late Sunday afternoon

Center Trail View

And wonder of wonders, I got to see another form of wildlife! If I had actually planned to see my husband, I never would have but here he was. Serendipity. Biking this trail is another form of adventure with many opportunities to crash. Yikes. I’ll stick to running.

Wildlife?

On the way down, it occurs to me the last two times I have run this hill, I’ve gotten lost on the way back. Confident that I knew my way this time, I set back down the trail. And promptly took the wrong turn. Lost again. A fleeting thought: although I haven’t rode on the cross bar of a bike in a very long time, there was an opportunity to avoid the extra miles by hopping onto a bike that just happened to be nearby and a strong guy who could help. Like I said…fleeting thought. I kept running.

Six miles later while sipping a beer on the patio with my Center Trail mate, I take a moment to review the run and count my blessings:

• I’m occasionally good at planning but the execution?…not so much
• I’m sure glad my calf is healed
• I love to run at the lake – in different seasons, the well-traveled and familiar trails still manage to feel new. Getting lost again just acknowledges that fact. (There’s a life lesson in there somewhere but it’s morning and I can’t go there now.)
• It might be good for me to actually learn how to use the map tools so easily available to me before I get stranded ten miles from home the next time
• Getting lost holds its own blessing at times and yes, Mom, definitely new adventures.