This Is Why I Love Running

Last week I asked my wife and son if they wanted to come on a trail run with me. There was a little bit of hesitation not quite knowing what they were getting into. But they finally agreed. When I asked again this past weekend there was no hesitation. Win! I told them I'd take them to one of my favorite trails. I don't think it has an official name but it's less than ten minutes away from our house.

Aunt Jackie was pretty excited that we invited him in on the fun also.

Within the first few minutes of the run Jackson had his first ever experience with doing a mid-run Superman flight through the air and then giving Mother Earth a big, wet kiss. I reassured him that this happens to everyone and gave him a formal welcome in becoming a true trail runner.

Out of all the thousands of miles I've run, I've probably spent more of them in this area than any other. I adore this network of trails. It's not hard to see why.

We laughed talking about some funny race memories and talking about races we'd like to do in the future.

I would like for you to see the expression on the face of our dog. Maybe he's smiling because we took him on a run. I think he's looking smug because he stole a loaf of bread off the kitchen counter earlier.

I posted the picture on my Facebook page and the funniest captions that people posted were:

• "I don't always carb load before a run, but when I do....I prefer a full loaf of bread."
• "So can I get some salami with that?"
• "I don't always steal bread....but when I do it's the ENTIRE LOAF."
• "You want me to jump how high for a picture?"
• "Darn! I thought it was a Twinkie."

We reached my favorite part of the trail. The view is amazing and every single time I run here I think "Wow, this spot is worthy of a cover on Trail Runner Magazine." But I never have anyone with me to be the runner model for the picture. Well, this time I did! I told Mel and Jackson that I was going to stay back and take a few pictures of them as they ran down below. Then I caught this, one of my all time favorite running pictures:

This trail isn't too technical and there isn't too much climbing so it's perfect for beginners. Not to mention the fact that it's seriously beautiful.

On our return Mel took the camera up ahead and snapped a few pictures of me on the trail. The thing I love about these pictures is that as the runner I'm so small and the expanse of amazing scenery around me is so huge. I feel so blessed when I am able to be a little speck running among this beauty.

Moments like this are why I love running so much. It simply does not get any better than this.