Notes
I was perhaps the most spoiled person on the planet this weekend, doing nothing but spending time with friends and running with my favorite company in my favorite place in the world. It still makes me smile thinking about it :)
Emma and I planned to meet Doug and Vaughn for a run mid day, but knew we wanted to enjoy a few more miles than they might like, at perhaps a slightly faster pace. We opted to run palisades before meeting our other company. I was hesitant after two days in a row of big mileage, and afraid I might not be able to keep up with the desires of my partner, but the trails worked their usual magic and I felt myself relax and begin to enjoy the effort almost immediately. I know Emma's pace probably would have been slightly faster had she been alone, but I think it was still a comfortable effort.
I love the flowiness of Palisades, and enjoyed getting lost in the turns and the rolling topography. I spent a lot of my first two years at Luther running on trails behind emma spoon, and something about it just feels right. It makes me happy and brings back so many memories. It seems no matter how the day or week is otherwise, or how long or short it has been since you've seen someone, running through the trails just puts the world at peace. That and our height differences work well because I can almost see the ground in front of us over Emma's head and don't have to worry about tripping on anything.
Vaughn ended up having to work so we met Doug downtown and headed for Twin springs and Phelps. Ran Twin Springs the best way, which emma, doug and I have now named "aourwhey", and the long gradual up and down was perfect to stretch out the legs again a little bit after some sharp climbs and descents at the end of Palisades. We came down from Twin, ran the road over past the campground, and started up the switchbacks towards Phelps. I would be lying if I said that climb felt good. By the very top of the climb at the peak of Phelps trail my legs were definitely ready to be done climbing, I was having some serious lactic acid build up, and I was feeling the work of 3 high mileage days, on trails, in a row. However, after just a minute or so of flat and slight descent after the climb I was feeling much better, and never felt like that again for the remainder of the run. We all agreed Phelps offers one of the prettiest views in Decorah, and the weather was perfect to appreciate the natural beauty.
We finished at my house before enjoying lunch together, and I felt incredibly lively and invigorated. Three big days in a row on trails, how could someone not be downright gleeful.