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Overlooking the World

July 21, 2013 (Morning)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: 65 Cloudy

Comments:
High Point into Middleton to Pheasant Branch into the conservancy, up the huge bluff, back around the lower section of the loop, and back the same way I came-

Today was a run I'd been looking at doing for a long time, as it was the route from the last long run I did before getting injured last August. I wanted to once again run up the huge bluff overlooking pretty much the entire Madison area one last time before I move out of my apartment next weekend to somewhere far too far away to do the run. I've been eying this bluff from across Lake Mendota for much of the year, particularly in the fall when I was still very injured and run along the lake a lot. Since then, I've focused less on it but have not forgotten it.

After the storms rolled through it was nice and cool, the type of breezy, cool, and humid summer days that make for great running weather. I started off faster than I've started off in a while and was under 7:00 pace until the conservancy. Although this is quite unmappable, I did end up on enough treacherous trails that the pace undoubtedly slowed some from there.

When I came to the bluff, it did seem a tad smaller than I had remembered it, though it did take a while to run all the way up. At the top, I stopped for a minute or two and gazed out at the view across Lake Mendota. I raised my arms in an odd sort of primal way and just admired the place.

After that, I ran back down and back to my apartment. I had some knee problems, likely because I haven't run this far in 11 months, but nothing serious. I also, rarely as this happens, largely did not have stomach problems today.

All in all, this was a really nice run and one I felt I had to do once again before I move on away from my current place. Now, I've done it twice, making bookends for my time out here on High Point and bookends for a largely injury-filled time in between runs of this length.