So.... interesting week lately. Summer running ended a week ago today and the season began the day after that. Let's just say I'm now starting to 'feel' all the workouts. Hahaha! The last Monday of summer running was fantastic. We were supposed to do a 5 mile and I was running with Frosty, Caitlyn, and Michelle, when Frosty turns to me and says 'Hey Hawk, want to do 7 today?' and I said, 'Sure!'. Michelle and Caitlyn decided to come along with us. What was originally planned as 7 turned into an 8 mile run. We ran from the tot lot out to Glen Ellyn. 4 miles in both directions. And let me say, it was entertaining. Next to the Prairie Path, we discovered another hiking trail that you have to practically climb up to get to. It's called Glacial Ridge, and it rises at least 10 feet up from the Path. Hahaha we tried to run on it, until we realized that + narrow path + steep edges = not a good idea. LOL. So we hiked. It was fantastic. Especially since Frosty, being the tallest of the 4 of us, led the way and in turn knocked down all the cob webs and spider webs that otherwise we would've walked into. Hahaha dodged that bullet! Upon arriving in Glen Ellyn, the desire for water became all too apparent. So, in a desperate search, we walked across the train tracks, only to have the lights start flashing and the bars go down just moments after we'd stepped off of them. We even joked about that happening, as well! Hahaha! We crossed over to what I thought was the train station, until we walked around to the entrance to find that it was a small office building instead, that didn't open until at least 8:30 or 9. I checked my watch. It was 7. NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So we crossed the street and went over the tracks again, only to discover a white gazebo, and in front of it, in all its bright green glory, A DRINKING FOUNTAIN!!! It was a godsend.

After drowning our thirst and running sorrows at the fountain, we then turned back, while I did the Charleston all the way down to the end of the block. The plan was to do it the whole way back, until I realized a mere 20 meters of it was all too exhausting. So, satisfied and bulging with hydration, we started back down the path toward Lombard until we came across Glacial Ridge again. Frosty and I were all too eager to go on it again, but Caitlyn and Michelle had to be back, for a soon-to-be-disgruntled grandmother was waiting for Michelle back in Villa Park. So, after making a deal to race the two of them back to the end of the Ridge, Frosty and I went up, while they stayed on the path. I looked down a few minutes later after we'd hiked for a bit to find the two of them to be nowhere in sight. Evidently, our race had been long since lost. HAH! As if our first trip up Glacial Ridge wasn't adventurous enough, Frosty and I couldn't find the path that got us up there in the first place. Through such unfortunate circumstances, we also came to find the Ridge, when headed east, ends in someone's backyard, instead of back down on the path. Panicked and confused, we turned back and chose to use a natural staircase, which actually looked fairly sturdy, that is until we tried to use it. By then, it was all too clear our way out was basically a configuration of loose tree roots and wet, slippery rocks. Luckily for us though, there were plenty of tree trunks surrounding the steps for support. Lucky that is, until I realized I couldn't quite hold on to much, for my grip was impeded by my car keys. Thankfully, upon mentioning so, Frosty held up her hand for me to toss my keys into, and we were able to safely make our way back onto the Prairie Path. But the fun didn't end there. We then found another trail on the opposite side of the path, and knowing us, we couldn't resist the 2nd detour . Apparently, the 2nd detour led us along a fence next to a golf course, for throughout the hike, Frosty found 8 golf balls, while I discovered 2 golf club handles and 1 actual club part, or 3 halves of 3 different golf clubs. Naturally, once we managed to unearth ourselves from the labyrinth of branches and leaves, we ran all the way back to Villa Park, carrying our new findings. Let's just say the looks from other runners-by suggested a little more than curiosity. Hahaha!

We attempted to run back with our discoveries, that is until a few of the golf balls kept slipping from Frosty's fingers, so our jog back involved a lot of stopping and starting and often the occasional sprint, only to catch a few of the escapees. However, the excitement didn't really start for us until we tried to figure out how to bike home holding 8 golf balls, keys, and 3 halves of 3 golf clubs. In spite of this new scenario, we then remembered Neko Mimi, who absolutely loves golf. So, upon hitting Villa Park, we veered left and went onto Wisconsin Avenue, and ran on down to Mimi's house. Despite the fact that it was 8:30AM upon arriving, surprisingly, our Mimi was awake! And rather excited to see us! Yet I must admit, we hadn't seen our Mimi in a while, so the feeling was indeed rather mutual. After dropping off our 8mile treasures, we then turned around and happily jogged back to the Tot Lot, after not having seen it for the past 2 hours. However, the urge to finally finish the run became unbearable for Frosty, so jog turned to sprint, and we wound up careening toward the Tot Lot, even after 8 miles. It wasn't until we exchanged goodbyes and I got back on my bike, did I discover even an 8 mile jog with some intense hiking involved, can make someone saddlesore. So, to say the least, my ride home felt a little 'bumpier' than usually. Hahaha!

And that's the story of the last Monday for summer running. We did let our older teammates know what and where we were running, and of course, Gibsochral asked us to call her just to let her know we all made it back. And we did. In other words, it was indeed a very successful day.