Now that was an interesting run. My title for the day is pretty meaningless, actually, except that I did run fairly long while exploring some new route possibilities. Corpse, though, is an overstatement.

I took off on my late favorite (the Flats run through some secret passageways), but instead of heading west to the cliffs and subdivisions, I proceeded south, then went east on a farm service road along some what fields. After a mile or so, the road ended (actually headed up the ridge toward the main road through the flats) so I went cross country (cross fallow and winter wheat) to a ridge of huge cliffs and boulders, including some cool balances, some caves and lots of lichens. I'll go again sometime this winter and take the camera.

I probably won't be able to in the next week or so, because it's supposed to snow later today. It kind of felt like it -- 30-35 degrees, breezy and increasingly overcast. I don't mind running in snow -- kind of like it, actually. But it makes places like this one today wet and muddy and unpleasant.

Anyway, I then went up the little drainage, following a variety of field-side roads (actually just the flatter places where the farm equipment has driven, making the footing better) and bushwhacking in a few places. I saw lots of deer tracks, but no deer. And I spooked three or four bunches of pheasants, all hens.

I saw one more possible route to explore during daylight, but I think it'll just be a shorter version of what I did today. I felt pretty good, but my feet did start getting pretty sore by the end almost 90 minutes, my longest of this season).

Going to make some kind of bean soup today, run a few errands and veg out tonight.

I'm going to have to step up the pace if I want to indulge my compulsion to make a thousand miles this year. I'm afraid it'll be close to 40-mile weeks, and I don't know if my feet can do it. We'll see.

9; 26-1/2; 51; 710