Best of two worlds?

Yesterday I was able to get a run in, ok nothing too abnormal about that except I was wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts, no jacket, no gloves, no hat and the best part was I wasn't cold. Quite the opposite as I actually struggled with the heat. No, I wasn't inside I was out of town.

I ran along the Guadalupe river in San Jose on a nice flat kind of boring little trail that is a mixture of gravel and asphalt called the Lower Guadalupe River trail. The trail was less than a quarter mile from my hotel. I had asked at the hotel how long the trail was and they weren't sure. So as I got to it, I had to make a decision go left or go right. I went left but I saw another runner going that way so I veered right, I figured better to take the road less traveled and went under the highway and headed towards the airport, I figured that this section which turns out is called the Lower Guadalupe River North Trail would connect to the section I previously had run which is called the Lower Guadalupe River South Trail except they don't connect. As after 1.75 miles the trail ended. So I turned around and I continued on from where I veered off and after another 1.75 miles I decided I had probably gone far enough. Did I mention the temp was in the upper 60's, it was killing me. I haven't run in that kind of heat since probably October. I do have to admit though I really do miss seeing grass, bare ground, moving water, people in shorts and yes I loved the warm sun on my face. It felt great to get out.

Then today I returned from San Jose and I was able to run with Wayne and Karen. We ran from Highland Park (Ford Bridge) over to Lake Nokomis, just a bit short of 8 miles. It was a nice day in Minnesota terms, around 30 degrees with the sun shining. The snow and ice covered trails are starting to melt. As we trudged through it, I delighted in running through puddles versus snow or ice.

So from my perspective, I got to see the best of two worlds in less than 24 hours, warm and sunny California and cold and sunny Minnesota. Not a bad couple of runs and truth be told, if I could take away the snow and ice, I do like Minnesota more.