I started this blog back in 2006 mostly as a way to keep myself motivated to write. I used to be an avid journaler, but I hadn't journaled in years. It simply wasn't interesting anymore to write for myself. I needed an audience.
Like many of you, the first blog I discovered, and the one that inspired me to start my own blog, was Scott's "A Trail Runner's Blog." It's still the one I look to as a model when making decisions about my own blog, and I've learned a lot from Scott. (That could be another blog post: What I learned from "A Trail Runner's Blog." I like it! I bet a lot of people would contribute. Hmm...)
Blogging turned out to be a wonderful decision. I love the structure and format it provides for my writing, and I get to write about my favorite topic: running! Mostly though, I love how it has connected me to the running community. It's important in this world to seek out like-minded individuals, and I have found many here in the running blogosphere. I've made so many friends, and some of you have even crossed over into "real life" friends. Make no mistake, these friendships and connections have been the biggest reward from blogging.
The title, Daily Adventures, is still one that I like. I do love adventures in life, because we learn so much from them. However, this title was never meant to say that we should all feel pressured to have adventures every day, and if we don't, then we are living a life less full. It's more about perspective. Big adventures are awesome, but we can't have them all the time. Instead, we should recognize, and appreciate, the little adventures of daily life: walking the dog on a new trail to discover a new view, getting lost on a run and finding your way home again, meeting new friends, discovering a new recipe, learning a new skill, taking a beautiful picture, winning (or losing) an argument, riding a bike with your son/daughter/nephew/sister/husband, teaching someone something, reading an enthralling book, whatever!
So, in honor of the idea of small, daily adventures, I want to hear about your favorite daily run. You don't have to write much, just a line or two about where it is and what you like about it. I'm giving away a lightly used Nathan HPL 020 (provided by the Wilderness Running Company for a review) to one lucky commenter! It's not about how awesome your run is, or the eloquence of what you say. Just make a comment about it! I'll draw a name from all the comments and announce the winner on Sunday. I'm going to go ahead and say this giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, not just the US and Canada. I figure if I really have any readers in, like, Kazakhstan, then I can celebrate that by springing for some extra postage.
So, I'll go first. (Don't take mine as an example for length. I suck at brevity.)
My favorite daily run is The Back Loop, also known as just The Loop. It's 2-4 miles on trail, depending on where you decide to turn. I love it because I can reach the beginning from my back door. I don't have to step a foot on pavement for this one. I don't have to get in the car and drive anywhere. I don't even need leashes for the dogs. We just go.
It offers forested trails (some single-track and some wider), and occasional views. This time of year, it's a little snowy. If it's early in the day, I can run it with just Yaktrax on my running shoes. When the snow softens up in the afternoon, it calls for snowshoes. In the summer, it's the perfect, smooth path of crushed pine needles, with a few hills, and a number of fun logs for steepling.
Here are some pictures from Friday's run with Gus on The Loop.
