I thought I loved running (and I do) but I have found something even better: running through God's Country (that's Minnesota for anyone reading from Wisconsin) on the trails and fallen leaves of the Minnesota River Bottoms.
Incredible scenery, smells, sounds. Downed trees, running streams, honking geese, chattering eagles, and the ever-present and sometimes startled squirrels that seem shocked that they were caught unaware 2 feet off the trail with their noses down by a 200 pound running man. How does that happen?!
And pushing my body to handle the shifting sand, broken ground, hills up and hills down, leaves, branches, roots and rocks. Never a dull moment. No repetition. No fumes, horns, broken bottles on the side of the road.


All this extra work is intentional - I'm less than 3 weeks away from the second half-marathon of my life, and I know that trail-running is good for building speed, strength and endurance for road races.
But somewhere along the trail, perhaps as I simultaneously spun a switchback and ducked under a low-hanging oak branch as big around as I was two-years ago, I fell in love.
I think this affair may last longer than the one with the doughnuts!
Beautiful!
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