HAPPY TRAILS

One of the things I really missed while living in New York City is trail running.  We had some fabulous bike trails along the river, but no hilly terrain to speak of.  There is nothing quite like feeling the burn in your legs and in your lungs when you crest a hill and then the almost reckless abandon, speed, and sense of letting go of the downhills.  Running trails is a constant game of strategy of where to place your next step, constantly taking into consideration rocks, branches, holes and stairs.  It keeps you sharp and makes long runs seem to fly by.  One of my favorite aspects of running trails is there tends to be some sort of unexpected, awesome view that you would never encounter on a track or a treadmill.   

Just across the street from our apartment is a portion of an amazing trail called the Littoral.  The Littoral is 25 kilometer trail that connects 5 towns along the Basque coast.  Most of the trail hugs the cliffs above the beaches and leads you around the snaking coastline to reveal beautiful beach after beautiful beach.  My morning run includes a portion of this trail, full of challenging steps worthy of Dipsea training and some really fun downhills. 

We have further explored the trail by hiking further south than my normal run takes me.  Aside from the gorgeous coastal views, the trail also showcased some amazing country landscapes, farmland and a ton of wild flowers.  Tomorrow we are looking forward to hiking the trail north.