signs

I'm battling to get into the jogging habit. (Sure, it might not be the best activity for me, but it's an activity, and it's one I think I can realistically do consistently. I'm still trying to find an Ultimate Frisbee or softball team to join, but until then, I've got to work with my brain and do what I can.) I had it for a while when I first got to D.C., then a number of trips (not least two weeks in Montana) broke any schedule I once had.

This week I've tried to start again. My first day I made the same mistake I always do when starting - run too fast at the start, nearly collapse from exhaustion five minutes in.
Yesterday, though, I managed to strike a more leisurely pace, one I could maintain for about 45 minutes. For more than another hour, I fought the urge to walk by forcing myself into a few short bouts of running. But after I lost my stamina, the afternoon mostly became about trying to walk the line between getting lost in a new part of town and keeping my bearing enough to return home. Part of me always hopes to get lost, just to figure out the challenge, but I also would just as soon be able to get back to the apartment within an hour of deciding it's time to head on back.

Most of my runs start in the finger of Rock Creek Park behind the apartment. It's easy to get lost in here; there's a number of named trails, but the signage is often lacking. It'll point you on your way, then the trail will pop out of the woods at a street intersection, with no indication of which way to go. It usually takes me at least a couple of tries to figure out where a trail goes once I decide to take it.

I've noticed a general problem with signs across D.C., at least outside of the National Mall area. Bus stops often list fares from at least two increases ago - if someone hadn't told me, I'd have had no idea I needed to get more change ready the first time a bus arrived. The road network to get out of downtown to Virginia is also less informative than I would like; until you've tried a route once, you have no idea just what lane you're required to be in to arrive where you want to go, or even where a particular road will end up.

But in the park, I mind the lack of information less galling. Getting lost is part of the attraction. Yesterday was no real exception - the signs lasted a bit longer than usual, but I still found myself taking random turns on sidewalks after the trail suddenly seemed to disappear.

I hadn't run west yet; I was pleased to find myself at the Potomac River and with the option of taking either one of a pair of trails I'd run into before, at a different spot. I've started to map out some longer routes in my head. Perhaps it'll come in handy if I ever get my bike fixed.