Mud and Sun

We woke to a warm, sunny and breezy day - hurray! After all the rain we've had, a bright, blue sky day just feels heavenly! Ryan and I were thinking of getting out for a run with Sam in the BOB, but we didn't quite have our act together, meaning I headed out alone around 8:45 so that I would at least get in my run before work. He can always go out with Sam later, or run after I get home if need be. I decided to head out on the powerlines and see what happened. I was hoping the legs and foot would be up for three miles, but I could always turn around if not.

The swamp irises were blooming in the wetlands, the swamp azaleas, 'butter and eggs' wild snapdragons and bunchberries added to the color along the trail's edge and the air was thick with the smell of honeysuckle and the flowers on the crazy blackberry brambles. The Towhee was singing his tune from amidst the now fully green bushes, hidden from view, and the sparrows were calling too. The trails had seen some serious erosion from last week's rain and there were some big mud puddles to splash through. Looks like they've closed the trails off to the ATVs for the time being to avoid more damage, which is good.

I was happy to have things hold up for the full three miles. When I looked at my watch at mile 1, it read 12:06, leaving me thinking, wow, this is going to be one slow three mile run!, but I finished up in 28:56. Perhaps I was being a little too cautious on the two downhills in the first mile? Or maybe I just needed to warm up! My legs were definitely feeling a bit rusty. Regardless, it is great to be out running again! Next week will be another week of three short runs, as I know I still need to be cautious at this point, but I'm looking forward to building back up the mileage and strength in the weeks to come!