The World Is My Yoga Mat: Running for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...

I find a lot of the hikes and runs I've been on go a lot "better" when I have a goal in mind. Better meaning easier, faster, more enjoyable, less painful, less arduous, etc...

Top of our first 14-er (+14,000' elevation)

Mohawk Lakes, CO

Wahclella Falls, OR

Skinning up Baldy Mountain

Sometimes I love going running aimlessly, like when I'm in a new city and wanting to explore or when I have anxiety or emotion to work through.

Birthday run in Forest Park, OR

First run in Portland after the move

Exploring San Diego

Sometimes I'll have no plan when I start out for a run, and it'll be one of those days where it feels freaking fantastic! So I'll just keep running… "I just felt like running."

Over 7-mile run, just because, in Asheville, NC

Over 5-mile run at Cannon Beach, OR

But when I have a vista/waterfall/peak/mileage I'm trying to reach, I can get an adrenaline rush that helps me push through any laziness that makes me wish I'd stayed in bed or want to stop and picnic instead.

Backpacking to Conundrum Hot Springs, CO

McCullough Gulch, OR

Top of Quandary (+14,000')

Angel's Rest overlook, OR

Multnomah Falls, OR

Loops are great because once you pass a certain point, it makes more sense to finish the loop than to turn around to go back the way you came. Plus, then you get to keep seeing more and more new stuff!

Lake loop at my aunt's in MA

Flumes trail, CO

Loop between Multnomah and Wahkeena Falls, OR

Even in my ski bum days when I was skinning nearly every day, I had a point I was shooting to reach. I didn't like making it halfway up the hill and turning around when it got hard or I got tired (hint: it was always hard and I always got super tired). I always figured, I'd made the effort to get my butt out on the hill out in the cold, so I should make the most of it.