Over the river, and through the woods...

I love trail running. It was the perfect cool morning for it. In fact, I thought I was going to be too cold for once. When we got started I found that I had layered just right. I met Kerrie in the trailhead parking lot and once we found the bathroom and adjusted clothing we got going.

I had walked these trails quite a few times with my mom while I was pregnant. I have a very good general sense of where I am compared to the parking lot, but admittedly, the trails do get a bit confusing. I just know if I keep looping to the right I'll eventually get back to the car. I think Kerrie may have been a little nervous with my changing observations. "This access road would take you to the parking lot."...Two minutes later, "or, maybe it's this one." If you have read her blog, Mom vs. Marathon, you will know she has a fear of creatures jumping out at her during her runs. Luckily, there were no wild forest beasties to scare us today, just a decrepit skeleton of a school bus covered in moss, giving the trail its name, Bus Trail. Still, she jumped when she saw it and started sidling to the other side of the trail until she could understand what she was looking at. Nice stop for a picture.

We continuted winding our way around small lakes and over fallen trees, manuevering our feet to avoid tree roots and rocks. I liked that there was so much more to look at and concentrate on than the monotonous stretch of pavement before you, like the Cedar River Trail. CRT is such a great resource for bikers and runners, and is close to home, but sometimes the long straight-aways can seem endless.

After 2.5 miles we made it back to the bathrooms, and decided to run to the bus again to get in at least 3 miles. And, honestly, I had slowed down in that last mile. I don't know whether I started a little faster than usual and tired out more quickly, if it was the more demanding path, or the fact that I haven't been doing as much running as I have been strength training. Most likely a combination of the three.

But, I learned two things. I need to dedicate more workouts to running and I can't wait to hit the trails again.