Getting Lost this Weekend

On Saturday, I opted to run 5 miles around my neighborhood. It was a beautiful day for a run. I ran to the Glen Cove Mansion, which I believe used to be a foreign embassy, and then to the Glen Cove High School, where I ran a few laps around the track, and then back home. All in all, not bad, but definitely not scenic. On Sunday, I thought I'd take it easy and run a slow and scenic 3 miles. I mapped out how to get to the Welwyn Preserve, which I figured would be nice to cool down on the nature trails. So, I'm running along thinking, I need to make a left to get to the preserve. On Google Maps, it looks like two roads will take me there. I guess map reading is not one of my areas of expertise. I missed the initial turn off to the preserve and thought, that's okay, I'll turn left at the end of the road. When I made the left, it was down a steep road that curved back and forth. There were no sidewalks or shoulders. It was just me, the road, and the cars. I ran a little faster down the hill than I would have liked, but I figured...it's better than being roadkill. I was hoping, actually praying, that there would be a way back to the main road after I finished going down the hill. Of course, NO LUCK!!! I entered a private island that had a million signs screaming, no trespassing. So after I ran another five minutes over the bridge, I had to turn around and see if I had enough energy to chug up the hill. Gratefully, my legs have been trained enough to just keep turning over, no matter how tired I get. It's fair to say I had a lot of adrenaline pumping through me too. I did almost get hit by a car on one of the turns. This gave me a lot of incentive to run faster. By the end of it, I ran a tough 5 miles. So much for a scenic, easy 3 miles. Next time, I won't trust Google Maps to show me how to get somewhere. I'll have to actually get directions from the Welwyn Preserve website. I guess it's true, you can't believe everything you see on the Internet :)