Bellow trees

This morning I got to run with Katie, my running buddy from the training group I joined last year!  It was the first time I've run with her this summer, and it feels so strange to type that because we did literally almost every Saturday long run together last year - plus most of the workouts on Mondays and Wednesdays, too! Anyway, she's wonderful, and I was happy to get the chance to spend a Saturday run with her.

Added bonus: the weather was amazing! Minnesota is in a nice little streak of just plain old sweet summer weather: lower humidity, temperatures in the low 80s - you get the idea. This morning was sunny and breezy, with temperatures in the mid-60s when we started. We also got out early enough so the trails around the Minneapolis lakes weren't too crowded. We circled three of the lakes - Calhoun, Harriet and Isles - and I know I've written about this before, but the miles tick by so quickly when you're chatting with a friend like Katie. Most of my solo runs, even the best ones, include as least some element of counting down the distance remaining. Not today! When we were back onto Lake of the Isles to close out that loop, I couldn't believe we were almost done with 10 miles.

Katie was looking to run about 10, and I had 12 on my schedule, so I headed back out for a little shuffle around Lake of the Isles to finish up the distance. (I cut a bunch of runs short this week for various little reasons, so I figured I could finish up the full 12 miles on a gorgeous Saturday morning.)

But make no mistake, it was leisurely. Lake of the Isles is the most quiet lake on our loop, and it's chock full of beautiful willow trees - or as I used to call them when I was little, bellow trees. I started my cooldown on the trail and kept zigzagging over to the trees, all in the name of practicing using my camera. Let's be clear: this mile probably took twice as long to cover than the mile I raced on Thursday night. It sure was fun, though.

You can meander over to the trees, stand under one, and have a peaceful little moment when you look up:

And then you'd back away and see an even prettier view:

And you'd probably get distracted by some little yellow flowers next to the shoreline, too, right?

There are no willow trees in this photo, either, but look! You can just barely see the Minneapolis skyline on the horizon:

Finally, just as I was about to veer off from the lake paths and head home, I saw a kayaker paddle past:

It was a peaceful way to close out such a fun morning with a friend.

The forecast for today is beautiful, so I'm off to either resist or give in to the urge to watch Olympics coverage all day and read my book about fonts. Pup and I went for a long stroll yesterday, and another one of those could be in the cards, too. Happy Saturday to you!