Running

So, this was my run yesterday morning. If you look really closely in the background, you can see a group of horseback riders in front of the mountains. This one one of those moments where I though, huh. I really live out west. And perhaps in a bit of a spaghetti western.

I can't decide whether I love google maps or hate them for this run... I had decided to make it an "easy run" kind of morning - planning on doing 5 miles or less. I decided to head out across this stretch of desert cause the maps showed about 4 roads that would allow me to cut through and get back on roads that led me home. What the maps didn't show was that all the roads were inside a gated community, so I conldn't get to them. I figure by the time I was done, I'd run close to 10 miles, some of which involved breaking into a state park and decidedly going the long way home. The up side is that I got to watch lots of rabbits, baby bunnies, ground squirrels, and even my first quail cross in front of me. And, I felt fabulous (if a little cooked and thirsty) when I was done.

So good, in fact, that Steve and I went back over half the same trail later that afternoon on bikes... To find the gate key I apparently dropped. Crap. At 2:00, it was just HOT :-) Made the pool feel pretty splendid afterwards though!

It's really amazing to have this kind of openness all around you. I miss the beach something fierce, but if I can't live there, this doesn't suck. I'm ok with the fact that our neighborhood has horse trails through it, and these mountains and desert are our back yard, too.