On Monday night, I had one of the best runs I've ever had. It was about 50 degrees, which is really about the perfect running temperature. I seriously don't understand how people can handle, and even choose, running in 90 degrees during the day in the summer. When it's 50 degrees, you don't have to wear gloves or jackets or anything, yet you're not burning. When it's 50 degrees, I feel like I could keep running forever.
Anyway, during this perfect running weather, I decided to run up to Rock Canyon. I have run near it several times, but on this occasion I decided to go a shorter way that would give me more time to actually go on in the canyon itself. I hadn't been there since my Geology 111 field trip two years ago. And it was wonderful. As I ascended up the canyon, I was able to look up the rocks and remember the things I learned in Geology 111 and 210: "That brown stuff is Mineral Fork Tillite, deposited by a glacier 600 or 700 million years ago before Rodinia broke up! Wow, I never realized how huge the Cambrian Tintic Quartzite is! There's the Maxfield Limestone--the Ophir Shale must be there somewhere, but I don't see it."
On my return, I went on a small portion of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail where I have been accustomed to going. A cyclist was coming in the opposite direction, and as he passed he said, "Beautiful night, eh?" It truly was wonderful. I finished my hour of running, but I felt like I could have kept going indefinitely. As I was walking home, I passed a guy with a really bushy beard. At first I thought he was clearing his throat, but then I realized he was saying "How's it going?" He had a really raspy voice. It was just a night where everyone was happy. Everything was awesome. Then some of us in my ward went to see The Lego Movie at the dollar theater. It was funny, because it was the day after Mother's Day, and the day after Mother's Day two years ago, some of us went to the dollar theater. Except on that occasion we had the theater all to ourselves, and this time the theater was packed.
I had two partial runs during the week, and people weren't as happy, but I did meet a little kid who was really excited to show me the pinecone he had collected.
Then I returned to Rock Canyon both on Friday and Saturday. On Friday, I had turned around once I was in Rock Canyon and was going to return the way I had come. But as I looked back down on the city lights, I decided I didn't want to go back quite yet, so I decided to look around just for a minute in Rock Canyon. I saw a little path but didn't think much of it, because there were lots of those. But I noticed there was a sign up the path. I had to know what it said, so up I went. I thought it would be one of those "Do Not Break the Rules" signs, but instead it said, "This section of the Bonneville Shoreline Trail has been adopted by BYU Geology Club." Although I never was in the Geology Club, as a BYU alumnus and a geology minor I had to keep going on this trail. (It's a good thing I wasn't a geology major, because most geology majors were either awkward nerds or sinful hippies. I'm not that awkward, and I never sin.) I had often wondered where the Shoreline Trail met up with the little section of it that I've been running. Now, I'm not sure if I will return to this part of the trail. I did get to see a beautiful sunset. But the trail at some times was very narrow, and most of it was quite steep. At one point I saw a limestone boulder lying directly in the trail, and I could see the beginning of a new trail around it. That made me surmise that that boulder had probably fallen in the last year or two--which is a bit unnerving, knowing that a boulder could smash you at any moment. I was a little worried on this trail, as it was getting dark, and it was very steep. But I did see two rabbits, and wildlife is always a bonus.
My Saturday jaunt up to Rock Canyon wasn't as exciting, and it was around 70 degrees, which isn't as good for running as 50. Running up there twice in a row was harder than I thought. I was really sore afterwards. And I realized something I kind of already knew: I don't think I ever want to run a marathon. Other people like that, and hooray for them, but after the run, I realized that just doesn't sound fun to me. My Rock Canyon adventures have required running uphill for half an hour at varying grades of steepness, and I'm not sure how often I care to do that.
As I was almost home last night, I realized that a black, flying, potentially stingful insect was following me. So I ran a little bit to get it away from me. But it was still following me. So then I started running faster, and it was still following me! Then I turned the corner, thinking it might keep going straight, but no--it turned the corner too, and it even turned again when I went into my parking lot! But I lost it when I went into my stairwell. Thank goodness. That was probably the fastest I'd run all week.
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