Riverbend Park, Great Falls, Virginia
Type 2 fun again. It was a workout for sure. When I had signed up for the Blue Crab Bolt 10k Barbarian Scientist and I did at Seneca Creek State Park in Maryland, I also signed up for the Riverbend Park 10k. That was this last weekend. We were not ready. I had amped up my strength training and was not running at all. Barbarian Scientist had been quite sensitive for the last few weeks because it is apparently not natural to run, or exist, in prolonged 100+ degree weather. Perhaps he is right and perhaps I am able to tolerate it better because 1. The heat helps me feel less cold (duh. But really, I am cold all the time.) and 2. I am in constant discomfort, so maybe I am not the best judge of what is tolerable and not tolerable. That is part of the lure of races. The running joke is that we are stupid because we pay to run in places where we could go run for free. Although it is true, would we really have found ourselves at Riverbend Park, in extreme heat, getting our asses kicked by the humidity and hills if we had not paid for the accountability? Probably not.
Riverbend (every single time I typed Riverbend, I first typed Riverside, a state park in Spokane, Washington) Park is number 37 in 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles – Washington DC: “Only about 20 miles from the White House, Riverbend Park and it’s neighbor, Great Falls Park, are probably some of the metro area’s finest close-in natural attractions. Fairfax County’s 409-acre Riverbend Park is a popular place to kayak, with wooded uplands, hiking trails, and a pretty floodplain shoreline. This hike is a double-loop walk that accesses part of the Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT), along the Potomac River, as well as a few moderate climbs through dense forests. You’ll experience openings in the path with views of the fast-moving Potomac river.”
Riverbend Park is also in Falcon Guides Best Hikes Washington DC, number 24, with this added narrative: “Captain John Smith’s 1608 exploration of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries brought him to the Great Falls of the Potomac. He and his crew hiked overland past the falls and encountered a tribe of Native Americans laden with bear, beaver, deer, and other meat. A crew member later wrote in his diary that they saw bison grazing. Archeologists have documented over 11,000 years of Native American life at today’s Riverbend Park, the most recent a tribe documented by Smith called the Nacotchtanks. the park’s annual Virginia Indian Festival held each fall celebrates this Native American heritage.”
The trailhead is located at the visitor center, where there is a lot of parking, a boat launch, maps, and picnic areas. The race began directly at the trailhead. This race was directed by Bishop’s Events, a race company focused on giving back. The charity for this race: “Wear blue: run to remember. Wear blue: run to remember is a national non profit running community that honors the service and sacrifice of the American military. Our community unites and supports military and their families, veterans, Gold Star families, and civilians through active remembrance and meaningful relationships. We motivate and empower individuals to healthier, more inspired living.” There were far less runners than there were at the EX2 Blue Crab Bolt Race, but these racers appeared far more serious. Hanging out of the back of their cars, or stretching, everyone was so quiet and focused. It was honestly intimidating – this is not the usual trail runner vibe. Hindsight says it was probably because of the heat. The pre-race talk was short, mainly just a brief description of the turns along the trail, but the trail was very well marked and again, the aid stations were plenty. There was not a chance of getting lost or dehydrated.
But, it was hard. I have pulmonary dysfunctions and breathing hard in this high humidity makes me feel like I cannot fill my lungs. So, climbing hills can feel brutal. And the race was an out-and-back, twice, for the 10k. If I had known that, I would not even had signed up for this one because that is my least-favored type of course. I wish I was the type of person who found favor in it for myself, but I am not. In the end, or rather, halfway through the first half, I got deep inside my head thinking about everything from the suffocating feeling I was experiencing to how I used to be so good at this before the Big Stupid Cancer took over, and then feeling disdain over the course, and I only completed a 5k, not the 10k I intended.
The course was out-and-back, out-and-back. That means running to a turn around point, then back to the beginning, then back to the turn around point and back to the beginning. To me, that is so boring. While writing this and thinking of my aversion to that kind of run instead of a point-to-point or a loop, makes me think of how tedious taking care of myself with cancer is AND HOW MUCH I HATE IT. Take my medications. Eat healthy. Every. Single. Time. Take my medications. Keep stress to a minimum and rest to a maximum. Take my medications. Out-and-back, then out-and-back again. This kind of maintenance is nearly the worst thing I can imagine for my own life. And for what? To see the same thing over and over forever? No thanks. I thought I was safely and comfortably in the acceptance phase of grief, but possessing grief is not a linear exercise with time limits and I am apparently not an exception. That seems dumb.