Easy like Sunday morning

This morning I met up with the Vertical Runner group at Pine Lane at 7:00 am. Once everyone arrived, there were probably around 10 or so runners. Among those that I already knew were Brett Himes, Jim Chaney, Lindsey Loftus, Bob Clarke, and Mel from Vertical Runner. Everyone started out on the Buckeye Trail and headed towards the Boston Store to do an out and back. Jim and a couple others ran the BT but veered right on the first pavement path that intersects the trail to go measure a section of the Burning River course near Happy Days. My plan for the day was to run to Brecksville and back to complete the BT50K course in reverse. I wasn't able to talk anyone into joining me though, so I just decided to run until I felt like turning around.

I met a couple new people this morning - Chris (left in picture) and John - and stuck with them all the way until the Boston Store since they were running at a slower pace. They were both nice to talk to. John told me he had too much cheap wine to drink last night and I could definitely tell every time he breathed.

The trails were pretty sloppy due to all the rain we had yesterday but the weather was great! Skies eventually became mostly sunny and the temperature was in the low 50s. The air was very crisp and refreshing today. Some sections of the trail were dry but there were parts that were extremely wet and muddy.

After leaving the group at the Boston Store I continued on the BT on the other side of Riverview Rd. and thought to myself... Do I really want to go all the way to Brecksville by myself today? It's always more fun to spend time on the trail with other runners but it was an incredibly gorgeous day. Hmm... I decided that I'd just play it by ear. Here are some pictures I took along the way...

When I reached the power lines I had to stop for awhile and enjoy the view. The warm sun and the cool breeze felt awesome...

About a half mile or so past the power lines I saw this tree on the left side of the trail that had some pretty flowers. Does anyone know what kind of tree this is?

Soon I reached Snowville Rd. and decided that 18.5 miles would be enough for me today. The good thing was that I felt great during and after the run and could've gone longer if necessary. Hopefully we'll continue having many more spring days like this!