After a long flight back from France with minimal sleep (in a sitting position), and arriving late last night, I decided to get rid of the cobwebs today with a short but quick run. In fact, I threw in a fast mile. With little running over the past week – almost as little as the amount of sleep I got – I knew the quick mile wouldn’t be pretty. As it turned out, I ran it in 6:15. It was the first time I’ve ever run that course in over six minutes, so I’ve got some work to do. My aim now is to get down under the six minute mark within the next month or so.

Below is another photo from a rail trail in Minnesota, where I was running six years ago today. It was such a joy to run on these perfect surfaces. Cycling would have been a similar joy.