morning!

4 easy miles last night with DS.  Had planned to go to the gym this am, but the rain and the bed's gravitational force kept me home.  Will go instead after work tonight.  Our wacky weather has been constant rain or drizzle since the weekend.  I know this is normal winter weather for other parts of the country, but a bit out of the ordinary for here.   The sun is forecast to be back this weekend, I only wish it would be sooner.

qotd-- often, usually when I'm traveling.  For work, this means cities and then local parks that I can deem relatively safe or that I know already.

I am planning on getting a few miles tonight and some longish runs this weekend, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning. It is supposed to snow tonight. I will run in the snow, but I try to avoid the cold rain as much as I can.

QOTD: Yes, I look for trails all the time. I found one Saturday, but it didn't go very far off the gravel road. It stopped at someone's deer stand. He or she wasn't hunting Saturday. I trespassed, but no harm done.

morning all I found out yesterday that running ins snowshoes (even one designed for running! is very hard on unpacked snow, snow ranged from 3-12" due to all the wind we've been having, but averaged around 6-8"- completely unpacked.  I "ran" 4.5 miles and it took me almost an hour and a quarter to do it- I was hammered!

I'm going to head out earlier this afternoon (was a little late yesterday) and try and get 6.5 miles- some of the loop will be where I've already traveled, my hope it's a little easier go in those stretches- eventually I just may be able to get 10-15 miles of trails half way beaten down so I can actually run

qotd:  absolutely, at least once a week I head out on "expeditions"- taking off on a faint trail or open ridge and see if I can loop it back into something, often it ends up being for naught, but more than 3/4 of the "trails" (most of these are not trails in the traditional sense ie manmade, but deer deer trails or just open enough areas to run) I'm running are ones I discovered.  We don't have much of a trail system on this side of the state, so you need to find your own.  Quite frankly it's more enjoyable as there is no one else using these "trails" and the scenery and wildlife viewing are great

On this rainy morning, Marley waited in the car for a couple hours while I caught some fish. Then we went for a slippery 5 mile trail run. It was mostly off camber and technical single track trail. It was slippery enough to he hard to stay on my feet, but I managed to.

QOTD:  Yes quite often.

Yesterday I learned that I need to add more days of running to my schedule to make my longer runs more comfortable.  And, wouldn't you know, I wasn't able to get out for a run last night.  Tonight, however, my SO will be at the pottery studio for 3 hours so I have plenty of time & no excuses.  7 miles planned for this evening.

QOTD:  Not really.  There are so many trails and mountains around where I live, and the seasons are so drastic from each other that it always feels like I am running somewhere new.

My knee feels weird and have a 22 mile run planned for Saturday so SRD.  I woke up this am and had two dogs sitting next to each other at the foot of the bed waiting patiently (until I opened my eyes) for their morning walk.  It was too funny.

QOTD:  Definitely!!!  I get tired of the same old same old all the time.  Once we were cboat camping on Lake Shasta and I found a trail I could run.  So I asked my husband to take the boat over there so I could check it out.  This lake has lot's of fingers and as we entered the finger we saw a bear swiming across the lake.  This area is so remote that I chose not to run after seeing that bear.

mtwarden:  Lot's more work. running in snow and with snowshoes.

watoni:  Hadto re-read your post as keep reading it as "ran a steep two miles last night while cooking dinner.."

Well I've had better days and hopefully I will again....like maybe tomorrow, can't get a whole lot worse. I know I shouldn't whine and it does no good, nobody cares, and surprisingly people start avoiding you. Kind of like your former friend that sells life insurance or Amway. But I digress...    Anyway I may still just go do a little 4-5 mile shuffle down a nearby bike path. I should anyway.

Longbeard--That's great. I have followed paths like that myself into stands, illegal baiting, etc. Walked thru their cameras and made sure to smile. Luckily have never stumbled into someones illegal crops or heard any strange banjo music.

QOTD--I love exploring. It can be running,canoeing, backpacking, hunting, fishing, whatever. I just have a need to see what's over that hill or the next lake.  My wife will say it's just more woods and water but I still have to check it out. Some people like or need to explore and others just like to stay comfortable and follow the script.

I often deal with that choice when planning my canoe trips. I have a number great places I know where the fishing is great, the camping is awesome, etc. and I have gone back to those spots a number of times. But I'll also say to myself that I found those areas by exploring so out comes the pile of maps. So many places to explore and I'm not getting any younger.