Running With Jack

A very fitting title to my run last night. Yesterday it rained the whole day, a slow nerve-provoking drizzle that super saturated the landscape, and probably led most hobby-joggers to pursue other sports or reform the surface of the sofa. Of course this old raised-on-the-farm, front-line soldier doesn’t know the meaning of bad weather, so suited up appropriately against the challenging weather and headed out for a 14K/8.7M recovery run.

The first few K’s were asphalt or crushed stone, so presented no real hazard other than a few wide puddles and the risk of slipping on a trail-blazing snail. By KM 3 it got interesting, old tractor trail through the fields, slippery mud and deep puddles hmmm do I see trail shoes in my future. Through the fields, along the wood line, than another KM of asphalt. Then I turned the corner and plunged into the forest, fairly solid trails crushed stone here and there, centuries of fallen evergreen needles, mud, leaves soft, springy, joy!

The air was clean, fresh, full of spring smells, newness, nice. The trees were greening, the evergreens fragrancing the forest still, only the sound of gentle falling rain, an occasional bird singing and the rhythmic falling of my feet. How lucky I am to experience this miracle of life on the run. How can anyone stay home on a day like this?

The countdown continues: 30 Days 7 Hours 49 Minutes 28 Seconds