THE WINTER SOLSTICE AT LAST...3.3 Mile Walk on the River to Ridge Trail
The winter solstice is one of my favorite winter events for the simple reason that for approximately the next six months we'll be gaining a few minutes of daylight each day, until the summer solstice in June. While I actually enjoy being out after dark, the combination of dark, cold, and tired makes it tough for me to actually get out and do much more than walk... another reason I'm in such lousy shape at the moment.
I spent much of the afternoon and evening driving to and from Poughkeepsie, to pick up several months worth of event swag from Fleet Feet (where they are incredibly gracious about holding stuff for me even though they don't have a lot of storage space. I still sometimes marvel at the fact that almost 4 years ago I went down there on a whim for their winter Howl at the Moon run (which consisted of 3 laps around the South Hills Shoppes parking lot!) and that started me going there on a "regular" basis for the various events they hold. Much like the Rochester/Buffalo/Victor Fleet Feet folks, they're good people.
(And much like the Rochester location, I go to the store multiple times a year... and have yet to actually purchase anything 😐 - just because I get a better deal on shoes at RoadRunner Sports thanks to their VIP program, and most of my actual running clothing I buy at places like Walmart.)
I'd been hoping to do some running on the Poughkeepsie side of the river, but between getting a late start and the wind making it feel a good deal colder than it actually was, I ended up just going for a walk on the River to Ridge trail, from the parking lot over to and around the hill loop and then back. The sun was setting as I finished or I would have probably walk the trail over to the bridge over the Walkill River; instead I headed back to Albany (after a stop at the New Paltz Shop-Rite to stock up on the iced tea that I like to drink, which was on sale for a really nice price.)
It will be a while before the extra daylight is noticeable but just knowing it's happening helps.
