the ingredients for a perfect trail run

Well my ultimate goal here is to run the JFK 50 miler in minimalist/barefoot running shoes.  That is one long ass trail run. Granted that goal is at the very tail end of an 18 month "grand experiment" I am performing on myself.  I have lots of smaller, more intermediate goals like a 5k in March and some 5 mile trail runs in April.  But, yeah, there it is, one big hairy audacious goal.  Run 50 trail miles in one day.

Legend has it President Kennedy said that a good man, an officer in his army, should be able to cover 50 miles. over rough terrain. by foot. in less then 18 hours.  From that statement was born the JFK 50 one of the nations first Ultra-marathons. So I thought it would be cool, you know, to add that to the t-shirt collection.

Anyway the point of all that is to tell you, my adoring, and growing public, about todays fitness activities.  Today was my first time!   Running from my new work location that is.  I knew there would be some trails nearby since I guessed I was about 1 mile from Rock Creek Park.  So, around 2pm today, I whipped off my clothes down to the short sleeve tee and shorts I was wearing (not like Clark Kent, more like Clark Griswold) and I headed out into the 62 warmth of a January day in DC.  That's right bitches!! 62, sunny, breezy and warm!!! 
side note: all things considered, global warming is not that bad. 
I headed left out the door, down Albermelre, and it wasn't long before I found a trail head.  I dove into the woods and it was bliss.  I felt like I was floating or gliding over the ground like...a gliding-type animal.  This trail had almost all the ingredients of a perfect trail run.  It was sorta dry in places, kinda drying in other places, but mostly it was muddy.  It had trees and roots and rocks and logs felled by storms long ago.  I crossed over a creek, a small tributary to Rock Creek, 3 times.  I got a little lost, not really lost since I was pretty sure I could run in almost any direction for no more then a mile and I'd find a Starbucks, but I had never been to that spot before in my life, and that was pretty cool.  I even felt like I had a small moment of meditation (or at least reflective thoughts).  The only thing it was missing was more miles.  15 minutes on the roads round trip only left me 20 minutes in the woods, which is fine because that little patch of woods might have been played out.  Although there was one more path I didn't take.  Maybe I'll explore it next time.

34-35 minutes. distance: unknown

random questions and observations:

1. When did high school kids become so brazen as to light a joint while walking down the sidewalk on the way home from school...and not even offer me any.
2. Brooks Pure Flow are not good in mud!  (Relax Ilisa they ARE great on the road)
3. I've received 50 page views here, including 4 from Russia and 5 from Ukraine, who the hell do I know from the former Republic?
4. My form on the trail seemed pretty natural and the soft surface helped a lot.

Jeff