Open Roads and Belly Rubs

After a long, excruciatingly painful day in the office squabbling over .2 milliseconds (long story), I have yet to find a better remedy than lacing up the old running shoes and spending some quality time out on the open road. So that's exactly what H and I did. We leashed up Maggie and headed out on the trail about a 1/2 mile from our house. We're blessed that we have so many trails in our backyard, but having these trails so accessible doesn't come without a price. We live in hill country and there isn't a trail within 10 miles that doesn't come fully equipped with a hill or two. Before we get too far, H and I usually exchange a few words over how many miles and how much suffering we intend to endure.

Today, we settled on a nice three mile loop. Unfortunately, that loop starts out uphill and ends uphill. For the first part of the run, we wind through residential streets just to avoid the hill with the 10% incline. There's nothing worse than trying to get warmed up on an steep incline, so adding a few extra steps is worth it. By the time we reach the trail we've already knocked out a mile and we're warm enough we can really enjoy the back roads. There aren't that many areas left in our neighborhood that are not being developed or marked with some sort of land use action sign, but these trails are protected and offer the perfect landscape for any trail runner. It has been awhile since we played back in these parts of the woods, but it was invigorating to just breath in the fresh air and enjoy the scenery. It was surprising to see all the landscape littered with fallen pine trees from this past winter. Maggie enjoyed showing off her jumping skills, but I think she was embarrassed by our inability to "hurdle" the trees more efficiently. Apparently, we were slowing her down...she's very serious about her runs.

The last 1/2 mile or so takes us around the backside of Yellow lake. This is my favorite part of the run and not just because we're near the end, but because the vegetation is so pure, so fresh that it's impossible not to be reminded how simple life should be. There's usually ducks near the dock, birds singing across the lake, a crackle or two echoing through the trees, and the sound of our feet gliding over the dirt. Just past the dock, the music of Mother Nature is interrupted by the sounds of cars passing, and children playing at the park. By the time we reach home, there's only one thing left to do...sit on the porch and let Maggie enjoy her belly rubs!