Does This Make Me a Trail Runner?

So, I'm trying to work running back into my life (my DC PT said I could!), and to help me get started, I went running shoe shopping this weekend! I may have gone a tad overboard....



But it's OK, because I'm only keeping the bottom two pairs!

Since I live in SLC now (hmmm... I really have some blog layout updates to make don't I?), I decided to keep a pair of trail running shoes (carpe diem!) and a pair of street running shoes (that I can also wear as regular shoes? ha!). Practical, right?

And I took the trail running shoes for an inaugural run yesterday after work! The whole time, I kept singing to myself, "I'm glad that I live in this beautiful world Heavenly Father created for me." Because it is beautiful, and I am glad. :)



And oh, MY, was I blown away by how pretty Utah is! Can you believe all this is just a few miles from my house/work??

I was also surprised by the wide array of wildflowers I saw. If this were Texas, I could probably tell you the names of all of these, but alas, that's not how we roll here in Utah. But look how pretty!

I even found a flower (bottom right) that matched my shoes.

One thing that did surprise me was how few people were up there. We've gotten some rain recently, so the trails were really muddy, which may have been a contributing factor. But since it was so deserted, I took advantage of the peace and quiet.

Last fall, my church congregation did a weekend retreat up near Gettysburg, PA. Our bishop challenged us to find a quiet spot in nature where we could go to pray out loud. I never got around to it in DC, on account of it got cold right after that, there was snow, then I moved, etc., but seeing no one anywhere around me, I made time for some peaceful, quiet moments. I don't typically pray out loud (maybe I should?), but I had a really lovely experience communing with God in nature. The evening was rejuvenating to my body and my soul. :)

I wanted to keep running, because there is SO much I could have still explored, but I was afraid it'd get dark and/or start raining again, so I headed back down.

This was the view as I got closer to my car:

I definitely plan to spend more time exploring the trails this summer! Let me know if you're in SLC and ever want to join me! (Or if you have any trail running tips, because the downhill killed me! :-/)