Al Buehler Cross Country Trail

Time: 60:03
Distance: 8.83 miles
Pace: 6:48
Map

I had a great morning of productivity lounging in the Duke Washington Inn drinking coffee, chatting on the phone, writing orders and emailing accounts. I took a quick break and headed off to grab some food and more free Internet. Dunkin' Donuts provided the food, drink and wifi. They say "America runs on Dunkin'" and in my case it might be true. I finished up some final projects and then set off in search of a good running spot.

When I was a sophomore at Brown the track team came down to the Duke/UNC area over spring break. Most of our workouts were on the Duke track and our runs were around campus and on the Al Buehler trail. I remember exactly where it was, but had forgotten how long or how hilly the path is. I started the run very relaxed making sure to monitor the lower leg. Everything felt fine and as the body warmed up the pace dropped. There is a nasty hill on the far side of the path that I felt great running up, but coming down really slammed the quads. I will definitely return to this training location in future trips.