In the second installation of our campaign to test out new hiking gear, my husband and I took our new hydration packs hiking in Fountainhead Regional Park.
Occoquan River
Hiking In Fountainhead Regional Park
We took advantage of REI’s annual Memorial Day Weekend sale and purchased the rest of the gear on the “equipment” list for our multi-day hiking vacation in August. While we both have hydration packs for running/cycling, we needed packs that could hold more stuff—extra layers and a day’s worth of snacks. 😉 I like shopping at REI because you can try everything on, and since we are “members” there is a generous return policy.
I was eager to try out my new pack but wary of how my cranky hip would respond to hiking, so I looked for an easy hike close to home. That led us to go hiking inFountainhead Regional Park—an even closer to home park I’ve never been to before.
There are three major sets of trails at the park: equestrian trails, mountain biking trails, and the trailhead for the 19.6 mile Bull Run-Occoquan hiking trail, which connects Bull Run, Hemlock Overlook, Bull Run Marina and Fountainhead Regional Parks—we’ll tackle that one another day. I plotted a 5ish mile hike along some of the equestrian trails as a more moderate adventure.
I loved that the trails are marked with horseshoe-shaped blazes!
Fountainhead Regional Park is less than 45 min away on a Sunday morning. The day was going to get warm, but when we started out it was in the lows 60s. The trail was mostly in the woods, with a few stream crossings.
Although we started hiking at the trailhead for the equestrian trails, I immediately took a wrong turn and we ended up doing the “White Trail Loop” before starting on the hike I had planned. After that unplanned loop, we opted to do an out-and-back on the equestrian trails (instead of another loop) to keep our miles reasonable. My hip was doing fine, but I didn’t want to push my luck.
Note the bonus loop at the top of the map!
The first loop had some steep sections, but the rest of the hike was pretty “easy” with moderate changes in terrain.
By the time we got back to our car, we had hiked 7 miles.
We knew our Annapolis Rock hike also had been 7 miles, and were interested to compare our Garmin data. My husband was confused because his data showed about the same average pace, even though the terrain was quite different. When I checked mine, that data also was identical!
The Fountainhead Hike
The Annapolis Rock Hike
I’m excited to have “discovered” Fountainhead Regional Park, and look forward to checking out the other trails.
Weekly Run Down
After hearing so much about it from Deborah, I decided to try RK’s Split + Hike program. There are four classes, each programmed as 30 min of strength + 15 min hiking (tread walking on a steep incline).
The strength classes are programmed as hypertrophy splits (upper push, lower push, upper pull, lower hinge) and I definitely felt the burn. The lower body squat day left me with the worst DOMS I’ve had in ages. You think you’re doing squats regularly until you take a whole class focused on squat variations!
Wednesday was an “off” day for the program, so I took Scooby out for a short walk+run to celebrate Global Running Day.
My hip wasn’t really happy with this celebration, but the rest of my body enjoyed it.
Saturday I tried a 30 min walk + run class. Again, my hip wasn’t happy with the running, so I was generous with the walking intervals.
I’m going to dial things back again this week and try to keep my hip happy.
A huge thank you to Deborah and Kim for hosting the Weekly Run Down link up.
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
I’m glad you liked Rebecca’s splits. Sometimes just mixing up the structure or type of squats can do wonders. Trying to decide if I want to do it again this week or try JJ. So many choices! I have not been to those trails either but looks like you both had a nice time out there w your new gear.
Ugh, sorry about the hip pain. BUT, looking on the bright side- hiking doesn’t seem to hurt it, and your big adventure this summer is hiking (I want to hear more about this, by the way! A multi-day hiking vacation?!) So, you can afford to lay off the running for a bit until the hip calms down.
Those split classes remind me of some of the Iron Series workouts. A whole workout focused on hamstrings, or quads- ouch. But, I guess it’s effective!
How exciting getting into the hiking prep! That park looks beautiful, very nice to have that close by. I hope the hip settles down, it sounds like it handled the hiking well?
I can totally imagine how a full workout of squat variants only would get you some serious DOMS!
I don’t remember if you said where you were going for your multi-day hike in August, but it sounds like training (and shopping for equipment) is going well. I’ve only been to Fountainhead Park twice, both for trails run, one was a 10-mile race by EX2 Adventures.
Here’s hoping that you can work through your hip pain and get it feeling back to normal quickly!
Bummer your hip wasn’t on board with the running day celebration! But how fun that you are getting all geared up for your hiking trip. Will you be back packing and taking tents along too? We are big fans (and customers) of REI! The closest store is 45 mins away and we go there at least twice a year to shop.
How fun to find new trails near your home to explore! I am sorry to hear that your hip got a little cranky as the week went on. I love my hydration vest, and there is plenty of room for snacks and a sandwich. I used it last year when we did that 22 mile hike around Lake Geneva. The only thing that really hurt after that were my feet. I hope that doesn’t happen on my upcoming 20 mile hike!
It looks like your new hydration packs passed their first test! A new park only 45 minutes from home is always a win.
What really surprised me was the identical average pace for this hike and Annapolis Rock. Looking at those photos in your post from April, Annapolis Rock seems much steeper and more challenging. Maybe all those pauses to admire the views balanced things out? 😄
I am so sorry to hear about your hip! I definitely understand that feeling. At least you’re able to get out and hike! That’s got to be a good sign. My doctor told me that my hip pain is likely chronic, unless I have surgery to fix the tear which is unnecessary. So I’m trying to run when I can, and strengthen my hip area through PT. Hopefully you’ll be able to feel better soon! I will say your hiking photos are gorgeous!
You kept busy & active! Sorry about the achy hip, hopefully that is on the mend. All the hiking sounds exciting, especially when there’s new gear in the picture!
Thank you for paying the Scooby tax!
I hate that you have had to scale back, but hope the hip comes around sooner rather than later.
What a fantastic looking hike!
What a beautiful hike! Fountainhead Regional Park looks like a perfect spot to disconnect and recharge. On a recent hiking trip I was looking for some ambient music to set the mood on the trails, and discovered a great AI tool for generating nature-inspired playlists. It really enhanced the outdoor experience. Your Garmin comparison between the two 7-mile hikes is really interesting — same pace on such different terrain is a great testament to consistent effort. Hope your hip continues to cooperate for the August hiking vacation!