Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.
John MuirMy calling to nature and the trails has grown quite strong over the past few years. I find myself training on the road more than I would like, mainly out of convenience and circumstance, but I feel most at home when I’m running free along the rocky, rooty, muddy single-track trails that blend seamlessly with nature’s beauty. This afternoon gave me the opportunity for some much-needed time to connect with the trails alone, and with only my breathing to control my pace as I sought out each and every incline I encountered. I went searching for one particular hill, but ended up being reminded that nature provides with every step. It was a great afternoon!
For whom does the bell toll? This bell is always a random treat to ring along the trails!
Chasing42 Log: 20160115Run: My time will be more limited tomorrow, so I committed to running longer this afternoon, and reveled in the mud, stream crossings, and winding trails I explored. I had a general sense of where I was most of the time, but part of the allure of those solitary miles is getting lost a bit, and knowing it doesn’t matter because your feet will carry you where you need to go.Thought: I found myself thinking about my childhood days building forts and playing in the woods for hours. I didn’t have a care in the world, and my imagination ran wild as I invented entire worlds and stories to occupy my mind. It’s sad to me that in today’s digital, controlled, fearful, and overly planned world, children don’t seem to be allowed the same freedom. Parents should not have to be worried about college acceptance when their kids are in preschool. Children should not have every hour of their day planned and organized, trackers placed on them, and leashed attached to them in the grocery store. I could go on for hours about everything that is being lost as recess times decline, the arts are cut from K-12 curricula, and children grow up having never played unsupervised. I’ll simply encourage every parent I know and those I don’t to give their kids the space to be themselves and the opportunity to explore nature. Let them draw their own path, and continue #chasing42.
