She Runs by the Seashore

Two days after an appointment with an otolaryngologist, I headed back up to the Baltimore area for an appointment with a speech-language pathologist at Johns Hopkins. Although it was a long drive from Salisbury, it was completely worth it to figure out my problem with coughing while running, which turned out to be irritable larynx syndrome. After my appointment with the speech-language pathologist, I figured I would find a new-to-me trail in the area and try out my new breathing strategies on a run.

I wanted to find somewhere that was on the way to my mom and stepdad’s place to the north, and I ended up finding the trails at Lake Roland in Towson. I’m catching up on the blog, so this was actually back on Sept. 9. I parked in an area right off Falls Road; the entrance to the trail was right off the road. People were parked along the road; there wasn’t a parking lot.

I entered on the Red Trail and ended up following this to the lake. I did a run-walk, stopping for various photos and videos and not trying to go for speed.

The parts of the Red Trail I ran on were not super technical. When I was near the lake, there were old train tracks that were by the trail, and some steps that went down to the water. I took the steps down to the water and was able to see the expansive lake and some turtles.

Intersections of the different colored trails were marked with wooden markers. (See a trail map here.)

When I chose the trail, I’d seen online there would be art on the trail, and I saw a limestone totem pole featuring different animals — “Terrapin Station” by Alan Rhody.

A little less than two miles into my run, I came across train tracks for the Light Rail (the Falls Road stop is nearby, and it looks like you can even take a path from the station parking lot). After crossing those, I followed large steps up to Lake Roland Park, where there was a dog park, playground, dam and pavilion. I did a short run around this area and then headed back to the trails.

I took the Red Trail back, but then turned onto the Green Trail for a change. This trail was much more technical. I was looking at a map on my phone and saw it would lead back to the Red Trail, and it did.

I headed back to my car after completing 4.35 miles, though there are plenty more trails to explore in this area. I didn’t even know these trails were here!

Afterward, I was in an ice cream mood (when am I not?) and headed to Jupiter’s, which was a five-minute drive away in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore. I got the MintFlix and Chillz ice cream, which was delicious (I now see that Jupiter’s serves Taharka Brothers ice cream).

I always like to explore new trails when possible, but since there were so many trails in this system, it would be a nice place to return when I’m visiting my family.