Running Minnesota - Land of the Lakes

My meeting ended early, so I decided to take a long lunch and go for a run before returning to my hotel room to finish the day out.  Recently read "Eat and Run"  by Scott Jurek, who got his start running in Minnesota as a way to train for cross country skiing.  Did a quick google search for "trail runs minneapolis," and an article in Running Minnesota came up.  Lebanon Hills was 14 minutes from my hotel and listed as a 7 mile run, advertised as rolling hills around lakes.  The temperature was 75 degrees and the humidity was 50%, so I had to go check it out.

The entrance to the park reminded me of secluded parks in Virginia, rolling hills through tall grass, until I came to the Visitor Center, which is an immaculately maintained facility on the shores of Schultz Lake.  A little concrete path runs on one side of Schultz Lake and up to McDonough Lake.  They had nice maps of the trails (more on that later) in a dispenser so you could take one with you.

The beach, unfortunately, was closed at Schultz Lake.  Clearly, Labor Day rules that apply to pools at home apply to lakes in Minnesota.  There were a few elderly sunbathers hanging out and listening to the radio on the beach.  Retirement must be nice.  The restrooms were closed, so I decided to ignore the pre-run trots and soldier on.

 I decided to try for Marsh Lake first, relying on my sense of direction.  This was a mistake.  There are a lot of turns and interwoven paths for hiking, cross country skiing, snowmobiling (apparently), and equestrian in a tangled web.  It wasn't until I meandered aimlessly into waypoint 53 on the map that I finally realized how to navigate this spiderweb of trails.  At each intersection, there were poles, which if you stand at the waypoint, tell you which waypoint is next on each potential path.  To make things interesting, sometimes waypoints are within 20 yards of each other.

My initial efforts hampered by discovering the method to the madness, I decided to forego Marsh Lake and head on to Jensen Lake.  The first mile or so was as expected of a region close to Marsh Lake.  Frogs abounded and if you stopped, the buzz of mosquitoes would soon fill your ears.  A little damp, but a nice, cool run through the woods will rolling hills.

As I made my way to waypoint 30, the hills got a little bigger and the hiking traffic was more pronounced (one hiker every half mile or so), so I knew I was back on the right track.  My legs complained a little, so used to flat C&O canal, and only used to long, pronounced hills at the end of my Sligo runs.  This up down, up down, right left whatever game was surprising them, but it felt good . . . different.

Passed the aptly-named Lily pond, with thousands of lily-pads, came upon the wobbly bridge at Bridge pond and induced some wild oscillations with my large frame.  The last few steps of the 100 foot bridge were more like a moon bounce than a jog.  Was feeling a bit under the weather on the next set of hills, and a pond and switchbacks along Jensen Lake had me convinced that I was further than I thought.  I was 2.4 miles in and wondering if this was a good idea, but AVA "Love Like Rockets" came on to get me through.

I reminded my legs of what happens around mile 3.  And sure enough, at mile 3, the first chorus of "Rebellion" by Linkin Park comes on and my legs are finally warm.

My pace increases by 2 minutes:  "We are the fortunate ones, who've never faced oppression's gun.  We are the fortunate ones imitations of . . . . .rebellion."  I'm feeling nice and warmed up now, and chew up the small rolling hills on the south side of the lake.  Then, I smile as "The War was in Color" by Carbon Leaf follows it up.  It serves as a great offset and ensures I don't completely flame out.  A more introspective, slower paced song for the winding wooden bridges that bring me to the far end of Jensen Lake.  I smile, even the bridges here keep you on your toes.

I stop for a moment at waypoint 2, having noticed that each waypoint has a map of the park to let you better decipher the numbers on the poles so you can plot your course.  I notice a big hill ahead, and as I press start on the GPS and play on the shuffle, on comes the original theme to Naruto.  Nothing more perfect for running up a hill.  And no better setting.  On the way up the hill, the cool 10 mph wind picks back up, and leaves fall across my path.  Too perfect a setting for this music.  I devour the hill up to waypoint 4 and power on.

Onto the path come two squirrels, one with a huge nut in his mouth, the other one in pursuit.  Far be it from me to deny him such a prize, so I pause and let him cut into the brush to safety, escaping his tormentor, who saw me and veered back toward the lake.  Onward again at a healthy pace until the Naruto theme had passed.

I realize I am into the hills and the frogs now.  Everywhere, there are frogs madly jumping out of my way.  They must prefer this side of the lake.  The north side of Jensen Lake is clearly the beginning of the ascent.  I keep powering up the climb and slowing on the flats, wondering if I should have brought the heart rate monitor.  No time for regrets not.

Up, up up we go, feeling a little tired by waypoint 29.  Plod on to waypoint 32, where four paths meet.  I notice something that's not on my paper map.  The northern route to waypoint 40 has two marks on the path that look like resistors in an electrical diagram.  The legend reads "Most Difficult."  Tired, a bit dehydrated, but suddenly feeling bold despite the pangs warning of diarrhea.  But really, how can one pass up a sign that says "Most Difficult."  LET'S DO THIS?!?!!

Up and up the hill I go, and I start wondering why I did this.  Clearly the "Most Difficult" label dissuades the hikers, because this path is grass instead of well-packed dirt.  But at the summit it pays off, a picnic table happily situated at the top.  Stop for a minute to take in the view and watch the dragonflies flit around.  The rest of the way to waypoint 40 is rolling hills, and I accidentally punt my first frog mid-stride as he throws himself directly in my path.  I see McDonough Lake among the rolling hills and know I'm almost there.

Get to waypoint 40, and have a decision to make at mile 5.99:  Go straight to the car for a 10k or go back around the west side of Schulze Lake to make it a cool 7.  Oh yeah . . . . 7 it is.  Devour the last mile, in order to make it a full mile I take a lap around the Visitor Center Parking lot.

There are some runs that just click.  This was one of them.  Definitely in my top 3 runs ever.  So much so that I considered downing the water in my car and running it back again.  Decide against that, since there's always the next road trip out west to run it back again . . . . . next time with company.