High on the excitement of feeling a little bit familiar with the Davis Creek trails, and having looked at the map a lot, I decided to explore further. I went up towards Pretty Valley, but cut East up the hill on what I thought was going to be a trail. It was not. More scratches and lesson learned. If it looks like it “might” be a trail…that’s about all it is – it “might” be a trail. But it is…
I quickly decided that I needed to convert the wife and kids to the trails as well. My girl is 5.5 and son was almost 3. We went up the north side of the Davis Creek drainage on the “triumph trail” up to the overlook of the lower waterfalls. They did alright for being so little. We did see one rattlesnake, which the Mrs. was not thrilled about.
Here’s where the rubber really hits the road…or should I say, dirt. Over 2012 and into mid-2013 I had begun to run on occasion. I enjoyed the feeling of satisfaction, and general pleasure in attempting to be healthy, etc… But I did not enjoy running. I almost started to enjoy it in October 2012, but the IT band pain quickly put a stop to my enthusiasm. Then my family and I moved to Utah. Our next door neighbor just happened…
Unbeknownst to me at the time, but my days in Nebraska were numbered. I started the month with the plan to run at least once a week, but by months end was in the throws of flying to Utah for job interviews, accepting a new job, frantically planning the move, etc… I did clock 3 runs over the course of the month. 3milers. No complaints at the time. In all, Nebraska was good to me. Despite its reputation for being…
I’d like to think it was because I was trying to be conscientious about rehabbing my knee…but I was probably just being lazy. Plus, winters in Nebraska can be cold and windy! Maybe 10 miles total over the course of 3-4 months. Oops.
By February 2012, I had moved to Kearney, NE. On a particularly cold evening in February – we’re talking single digits – I thought: “Man, its crazy cold outside. I should totally go out and run. That would be nuts.” So, out I went. I strapped on some old trail running shoes I had around for hiking and general outdoor use – some old Nike Alvords. I put on a beanie, cotton long-johns, sweat-shirt, gloves, and hit the road. It…
In 2004 I moved to Lincoln, NE. Not much mountain biking in Lincoln, if you can imagine. Not many mountains to hike either. This was problematic. In fact, this is precisely teh circumstances that may have compelled to take up running. But, they didn’t. I hate running. No, instead I took up lap-swimming. And occasional biking on pavement.
I grew up in NW Washington as an active kid. Lots of hiking, camping, rock climbing, swimming, snowboarding, etc… A possibly unhealthy amount of mountain biking. Lots of mountain biking. But no running. I hate running. I tried to stay active in college as an undergraduate in Utah. But still no running. Well – maybe once or twice over the course of 7 semesters, but they were disastrous attempts. Running is the worst.