Jess and Fox Run

December 20, 2010
Fox Run Park
1.56 miles
20:42 minutes
13:19 min/mile

I'm home in Colorado!  I work and live in Casper, WY during the week and truly love my job; however, my youngest kiddo is here in Colorado and I miss her!  I went out and ran yesterday in Fox Run (3.32 miles @11:45 pace) and told Jess about it.  "Mom, I'll run with you tomorrow."  Yeah!

So, today is tomorrow and Jess and I have parked at Fox Run to run the almost mile loop.  We walk through the parking lot and begin the loop. It is uphill and I tell Jess let's take it easy and begin a brisk walk.  Most people go out way too fast and run too hard and then never repeat it.  I don't want my family to hate running.  While they may never enjoy it as much as I do, why push too hard and have them despise it?

Jess and I pick it up on the flat stretch and break into a nice slow jog.  Jess has been running at school and can pump out a mile pretty quickly on the old gym floor; however, running on trails about 1000 feet higher in elevation is a tad different and she begins to feel it pretty quickly.  As do I!  I have not run solidly for over three months and have felt the pounds creep up on me.  I work long days and then am loathe to hit city streets paved in darkness.

Jess and I slow to a walk at another uphill stretch and we chat a bit before rounding our first turn.  Once we hit this new trail, it is mostly downhill and a lovely stretch to run.  I tell her to let gravity do the work, breathe deeply and relax.  I hear her breathing even out and I resist the urge to fly.

We turn again and this time all the downhill that we just enjoyed disappears as well face a steep uphill for a bit.  nothing wrong with that, what goes down must come up and we run to a stump then walk to another.     We continue this practice until I see the end in sight and we run over the bridge.  We do not quite have a mile so I tell Jess we'll walk it out.  At a little over a mile we turn and jog back.

How do you feel? I ask Jess.  Okay is her reply.  Do you want to run a bit more?  Sure.  So we decide to go up the trail we just ran down, this time, walking briskly.  I spy a favorite single track that will take us almost to where we want to go and jump on it.  As I make my way onto the track a low branch snags my hat and it falls off.  I stop to pick it up and look at the tree.  It is covered with slices of apples and tiny oranges!  Someone has left a goody tree for the deer and other animals in Fox Run.  What a cool sight and one I would have missed if we stopped at a mile.  Jess tells me I missed another with a stocking in it back a little ways.  Darn it!

We run down the single track and turn right to return to the parking lot.  At 1.5 miles, we stop and walk the rest as a cool down.  What great mother daughter time.  Not a single other runner was out today - it was quite windy and we congratulated ourselves that a 50mph wind did not stop us from getting out.  Jess tells me she'll run again with me during the Christmas break. I'm excited; I know that running is not her sport so I won't push too hard.  I'll just take what I can get and enjoy it for all it's worth!