This morning I was very prepared for run in the 26 degree weather.  I had on super thin lycra tights, long sleeve cool max t-shirt, and a new Illuminati running jacket.  Add a pair of gloves and and a running beanie and I could take on the great white north.

I was planning on an hour run.  I had no schedule to follow.  I wanted to see lakes and beautiful homes near the lakes.  I immediately headed for the crushed limestone Three Rivers Bicycle trail.  Please note that there is no river in sight and I don’t believe the trail crosses any rivers.  Lots of lakes!

I love the names of the streets that the trail crosses-Timber Lane, Strawberry Lane, Sleepy Hollow, Cottage Wood, etc.  The names really do reflect what the area is all about.  Cottagewood is my all time favorite name for a street when I run in Minnesota.  There is an old store that is sometimes in business and sometimes not.  At the turn of the century (1900) it was a thriving store that sold general merchandise.  Today as far as I could see it was one of those trendy  tourist type places that sold ice cream and other sweets.

Today the run felt absolutely effortless.  I have to mention that I run like a turtle when I am not training for a race.  I usually stop and pet dogs, listen to cardinals chirping in the trees, and take photos of things that I find interesting.  I also took some liquid vitamins that a friend gave to me and asked me to test out.  I wish I would have taken a dozen or so samples packs of this stuff called Vibe.   Call it placebo or real, something kicked in on my 2 hour run today.

The run was real.  I arrived back at my parent’s place in 2:14′.  I was listening to a cardinal singing in the trees.  In the marsh behind my parents house red wing black birds were making there calls.  I realized that where I live in California, there are not as many birds chirping.  The sounds of the north woods are so precious to me.