One of my favorite places to train is on the Silver Comet Trail in northwest Georgia. The Silver Comet is a paved greenway that was created on the same land where a railroad of the same name used to run. It is absolutely gorgeous, very peaceful and relatively flat, making it an ideal place to walk for hours on end. There are also regular "rest stops" and trailheads with bathrooms, drinking fountains and other amenities, which are greatly appreciated when you're on mile 7 of a 12 mile walk. Even better, there are regular mile markers which make it very easy to track mileage on the trail. All in all, it is a great place to train for the 3-Day, and I was very excited to share it with Kelly this year.
Kelly and I, along with Shenanigans (my dog) and Parker Wilson (Kelly's dog), have now walked at the Silver Comet twice during our training, covering the first 9 miles or so, with more to come. I brought my camera along on our first trip in order to share the beauty of trail with all of you.
One of the great advantages of the Silver Comet Trail is the well-maintained trailheads. There are regular parking areas that are very secure which is a relief when you have to leave your car there for hours on end during training. Even better, there's never a charge for parking - hurrah! This picture is of Kelly and Parker getting ready for our walk at the Mavell Road Trailhead.
Much of the trail is wooded, making it a really peaceful walk just outside the city. While it's great to walk through the big buildings of the city and peek in the windows of the shops, it really is a great treat to escape from the "concrete jungle" for a few hours.
The only downside to the Silver Comet (and training in Atlanta in general) is that it can often get very hot. While Kelly and I always bring water for ourselves and the dogs, sometimes things can go awry. This past weekend we arrived at the Floyd Road Trailhead for a 9-mile walk only to discover that the temperature on the trail was a steamy 100 degrees. We thought we had brought enough water for the whole trip (4.5 miles out and 4.5 miles back), we ended up with empty water bottles at our halfway point and were dismayed to find that the Carter Road Trailhead didn't have a drinking fountain. Facing the choice of walking 3 miles up to the next trailhead (and thus an extra 3 miles back, for a total of almost 15 miles!) or walking back with no water, we were really stumped. Our frustration only mounted after asking a lady who was finishing her walk for the day where the nearest gas station was and hearing it was a few miles out. We were just about to start a long, hot walk back to the car when lo and behold, our new friend came back with two Big Gulp cups full of ice for us and the dogs, just the thing to get us back to our car! Kelly and I were floored by her kind gesture and have vowed to "pay it forward" on the trail in the future. So thanks, random stranger - you helped us out more than you can know!
To close, I wanted to include this picture of Shenans and PW taking a much deserved break at the Floyd Road Trailhead. Thanks so much for reading along and more updates are coming, I promise!
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