The Woods Await, Maid Marian

Today the trails called my name and I answered.  Ok, really my friend asked me to road trip to a nearby state park and I readily agreed!  How could I refuse?  First of all, a trail run with a friend is always a practice in adventure and sometimes comic relief!  Second, a trail run in MN in December? You betcha!  This year Old Man Winter seems to be sleeping or forgotten about us hardy Minnesotans.  Our snow total for the year is maybe 2 inches.  That means clear streets, so slipping and sliding though snowbanks as we try to get mileage, AND it means trails are accessible!  YAY for us!  So we headed out on the trails of Nerstrand Big Woods State Park.  Eight miles never passed so easily and so quickly.  The rolling hills kept our muscles challenged, a few steep ones to get the heart really pumping, and a creek crossing here and there to remind us of Mother Nature's love of variety.  Now, if you live in MN or anywhere else where seasons actually mean a change in weather and landscape, then you know how beautiful the scenery is when the first lime green buds appear in the spring, then burst into the full-blown verde of summer, and last the soothing autumnal tones.  THAT is one of the reasons I love to run trails.  But today seeing the barren trees scattered across the prairie with the icy blue sky as the backdrop was breathtaking!  My friend appreciates nature maybe even more than I do and noted that a part of the forest brings upon the image of Sherwood Forest. I love that! What shoes would Maid Marian wear if she was a trail runner?  Well, I in my Nike Pegasus, may have caught a glimpse of the wily bandit and his Merry Men as I rounded the last bend to end my run.  Trail running is way for me to connect - just connect.  With nature... , with others..., with myself..., with fictional characters?...