I've thought about writing a blog for a couple years so it's good to finally get going. I'm writing this blog for me really - as a place to organize my ever-evolving thoughts. If someone is interested in reading it, that's great; if not, that's fine too.
I'm an avid trail runner - it's something I've become quite passionate about over the last 4 or 5 years. Most of what I plan on posting will be about trail running - but it won't be limited to that.
2013 wasn't a great year for trail running for me - I let ' busy' get in the way (more about 'busy' to follow in the future), but in the last little bit I've decided to set the time aside to run in the forest and it's been great to get back at it.
I've run each of the last three days - hill repeats on Saturday and then the Lynn Loop on Sunday & Monday. The Lynn Loop is my favorite run on the North Shore and my "staple" run. I usually park at the End of the Line General Store, run the Varley Trail into Lynn Headwaters and the run the upper Loop to the rubble chute and back along Lynn Creek, retracing the Varley Trail to my starting point - about 12 km.
With the recent snowfall, this run is just awesome! Today's run was especially great as the snow was coming down pretty good and there were only a few tracks in the fresh snow. I didn't see anyone for a good 40 minutes. I'm not antisocial but there's definitely something about solitude that makes your experience of nature more crisp. Having said that, when I do see someone, especially a runner, it's hard not to smile knowing that you're both sharing a great experience outside. Sometimes I honestly feel sorry for people who don't know what it's like to be outside. There's nothing like it, but it's not easy to explain the experience to someone who hasn't done it.
I have an office job and it can involve some long hours and a fair amount of stress - if you let it. A while ago I made the decision to reduce my hours and my stress and it's been going pretty good. It's too bad it took me so long to realize that you choose theses things (just like you choose your happiness and most of the other facets of your life).
Tomorrow I'll be heading to Whistler to enjoy more of this great snowfall. See you on the trails.
