Monday Reset Run: Lands’ End to Vasa Single Track

re·set verb \(ˌ)rē-ˈset\
: to move (something) back to an original place or position

: to put (a broken bone) back in the correct position for healing

: to put (a gem) into a new piece of jewelry

I thankfully have no broken bones right now, and I’m no gemologist…which leaves us with the first definition of the word “reset.” Which is what I felt I did during this morning’s run. It was a reset of my body and my mind, and I realized while I was out there that this is how I usually feel come Monday mornings after I’ve laced up my shoes and headed out the door to run. Whether it was a full and busy weekend (like this past one, with a Saturday morning football game and two separate get-togethers with family and neighbors), or a low-key one (the kind I’m hoping happens at least a few times before the holidays), Monday mornings are my time to re-calibrate myself with a run.

Today the trails were calling me, but next Monday? Maybe the streets downtown. Or the path around Boardman Lake and the library (I am excited to check out the completed pathway there). Wherever my Monday Reset Runs take me, I’m going to start bringing you all along with me. And I’d love for you all to share your “reset runs” with me, too. (Every run could be considered a “reset run,” right?? Yeah, but for the sake of this new column, we’re talking the first-of-the-week, getting-your-game-on, ready-to-rock-it Monday runs.)

This morning, with the weekend’s beautiful clear weather sticking around, and feeling especially eager to run after two days of rest, I decided on a longish route on the Vasa. I jumped onto the path from Lands’ End, a paved road not far from our house that intersects the Vasa. I headed right, toward Timber Ridge RV & Recreation Resort (home to a host of running, biking and skiing races), and decided to see where my feet took me. I figured I’d stick with a familiar 5K loop, but at a crossroads, I opted to stay straight and try an out-and-back instead just so I could do something different. The trails are well-marked, and I feel pretty comfortable out there, so I just kept going, thinking I’d turn back at the 3-mile mark or so.

The colors are really starting to pop on the trail.

This section of the trail is a mix of hills and flat path, with some single-track thrown in. A little over three miles in I came to the parking lot of the single track trailhead off Supply Road, a popular spot for mountain bikers. I stopped briefly to use the restroom (we’re talking straight-up outhouse here), and then I headed back toward Lands’ End.

The final stretch of this route, right before reaching my neighborhood, is this lovely stretch of paved road with towering pines and hardwoods on both sides. There’s just something about it I love.

I took my time on this run, going a minute to two minutes slower per mile compared to my usual “road” pace. It felt good, this is how I prefer to run trails anyway, and it only added to the feeling of resetting and gearing up for the week ahead. Oh, and I wore my Michigan Runner Girl tank, to see how it held up on a sunny and cool run. It was perfect.

In addition to a busy weekend, this past week has been one big ol’ celebration of sorts with our wedding anniversary on Thursday (15 years!) and learning, after a week and a half of waiting, that I made it into the Boston Marathon(!!). It’s been an emotion-filled several days, which made this morning’s 6.5 miles all the more meaningful … and the kind of reset that’s got me ready for all that’s to come this week.

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When was your last reset run?