March Gladness!!

The snow has melted and spring has sprung in Iowa!... and just a year after my "Spring Straining" post where I went into March with an injured lumbar disc followed by a nasty flu followed by a hamstring injury; I'm happy to report I have bounced back am craving some action!!!...  with the temps above freezing again I steered my runs this week to revisit a few of my favorite hot spots on the roads and trails of DBQ country that have been somewhat inaccessible the last few months.  Here are some photos from my last week of fun on the run...
- Happy Running! Cory

Great views but last time I ran by this farm I was attacked by a hord of Jack Russell Terriers...  there was also a dead rotting cow on the side of the road here one time when Hunter and I ran by haha

Did you ever have an art class where you had to draw a train track fading into the distance?  This is what this photo reminds me of in a way, all in all makes me just plain happy to think about how far I've come... side note my quads were freaking killing me as the pitch of this road got pretty extreme!

Rocking my Simple Hydration Bottle once again, it perfect for runs in the country where drinking from creeks is not "advised"... as a bonus leaves my hands free to take my action photos!

Turnaround point of the route, about 500 feet up from my start at the Durango Valley below.  It was misty from the rain today but still a great view!

Literally running on clouds!... is this Heaven?.. no it's Iowa! 

I'll never take a bridge over a creek crossing, even on my lunchbreak! (sockless the rest of the day at the office)

Mature Forest trail... my personal favorite as it's the one I take my girls running on in the summer!

The contrasts of the bare trees, green grass, cold wind and warm sun makes me feel completely in my element, such a great time of year!

That is our local ski slopes in the background, the only place in DBQ Country with snow still clinging to the ground.

At this same location 25 years ago my older brother Nate and I spot an animal in the distance... he says it's a horse, I know it's a cow... we yell back in forth arguing for some time before we are interrupted by a clear "MOOOOOOOO"... I turn to Nate and "udder"... "HI-YO BESSIE AWAY" hahaha... got him good :)   

Got the headphones in doing some cadence drills with a metronome, been paying off as my cadence lately as been pushing 185+ on workouts!

Carried the action cam for 10 miles this morning forgetting to take pictures again except for this one which ended up blurry... regardless it was just a great run with two awesome runners and friends!