The Connection Runners

Three Things Thursday: What's Going On, World?

Before I dive into today's Three Things, I'd like to say HI to any new readers stopping by! I've had a bit of an increase in traffic lately, and I'm loving seeing new faces in the comments. If you're new to this here blog, and I haven't heard from you yet, please feel free to say hello!

Onward. Another Thursday, and another lovely day in Michigan.

Sidebar conversation with the State of Michigan: Seriously, dude, where'd all of this nice weather come from? Not that I'm complaining. It's just that I wish you'd not hold out for so long and then go all nuts on us for days. A little mixing it up would be nice. Now I know what it's like to be around me during PMS time: on, off, on, off. Whew.

Ok, I'm back.

When I got home from a hellacious day at work, I jumped on my Daily Mile account to see what all of the awesome DM-ers were up to today.

If you don't use the Daily Mile, #1) you should; it's like Facebook for outdoorsy people and #2) a "Daily Mission" is posted each day asking users to share something about themselves, their run, or their running philosophy. This is today's Daily Mission:

Hmm. Interesting. I'll accept that challenge.

Here are the three things I noticed while out for a 2-mile walk tonight:

The air smells so much fresher on a 73-degree and sunny day. I don't quite understand why it does, but I'd love to bottle up that true "fresh air" smell and savor it every day of the year. (Sorry, Glade air freshener, but you don't come close to a day's worth of air like this.)

Big, open fields of freshly cut grass make me long for the days of carefree kid-dom. Seriously, don't you just want to run around out here and play kickball or TV Tag or complete a series of one-handed cartwheels?

I love running, and enjoy celebrating the run when I can, but there's something to be said about setting running aside for a day to enjoy a slow and steady walk to absorb the scenery. Every gnarly tree, every crooked side walk, every park bench - little details that, on some runs, I'd just merely take in in a passing blur.

Tell Me: What neat things have you noticed about your world lately while out for a run or walk or ride?