Sunday, late morning/noon
6.5 mi / 10.5 km
48 F / 9C
I had been wanting to try a route extension on the Mississippi River, crossing over to historic Fort Snelling from a section on the East River Parkway that I had run just once before, to check out a trail that connects Fort Snelling Park with Minnehaha Falls Park. At first I was going to make it a long, 17-mile run-commute from my office home. But I ended up driving to work in the morning, so I had decided to just drive down to the river and do an 11-mile version, first a familiar section between Marshall and Ford Parkway bridges, and then the route extension. But as the morning wore on, I began to loose steam, still feeling the effects of my lingering sore throat/dry cough, so I ended up deciding to just do the new part, the extension, and so drove all the way down to Ford Parkway, and parked on a city street.
![Ford Parkway-7th Street Brdg.jpg Ford Parkway-7th Street Brdg.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3066-ff8ca509ab8f370a6d7cc11a610cc2df.jpg)
I was a little nervous after five days off from running, and six days since my last mezzo run. I started out stiff, but I think this was mostly due to the lingering soreness of my squat/deadlift fest two days prior. I tried focusing on getting my left foot to land more like my right, with a slight forefoot landing, while running south on the east bank,
![From East River Parkway.jpg From East River Parkway.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3065-52cd71596d4aa57a7b74d9716263bc76.jpg)
(looking northwest with downtown Minneapolis in the background)
and then crossed over the river on the 7th Street bridge,
![5.jpg 5.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3069-4a30a54b98609744aa692a1aa10285be.jpg)
to Fort Snelling.
![7.jpg 7.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3071-178a9058c4dfe95034015878aeb02c07.jpg)
I hadn't been to visit Fort Snelling in decades. It was the first European outpost in this area, strategically overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. It was a common field trip when I was in school, with pretend soldiers and traders re-enacting precolonial life.
Then I circled around the fort on a descent to the trail I wanted to check out.
![8.jpg 8.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3072-5701a50bdb2d8a347125024b589d675d.jpg)
It had pretty rough chipseal.
![12.jpg 12.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3077-69e47c9738e8a744f32f0edcd4d3b4ab.jpg)
![11.jpg 11.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3076-860e47b6c4e06608bc308072f4497a9e.jpg)
![10.jpg 10.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3075-b0522472e16e4cb0cf62572d431b0b5f.jpg)
Like Ken Bob says, harsh surfaces teach good form, and sure enough my left foot's forefoot landing became automatic at that point. It was pretty beautiful down there.
![9.jpg 9.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3074-10cddff859666ddf51b11296ae1274db.jpg)
The trail sits about halfway between the bluff and the bank. Then I resurfaced, in two senses, in Minnehaha park, ascending from the rough chipseal path to a nice smooth sidewalk up on the bluff, with Ford Parkway bridge and the lock and dam in the background.
![13.jpg 13.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3078-a0c52b0c7c2c4880dbdd7a31273ec636.jpg)
There were a lot of people checking out the falls and park on a magnificent autumn day.
![15.jpg 15.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3080-b480bade2467ebe585aa4aac3f72a7e0.jpg)
I felt guilty for enjoying it alone without my family. Barefoot and in my shorts and t-shirt, I felt like an alien and got a lot of looks and a few typical comments.
From there, I crossed over the Ford Parkway bridge, got back in my car and drove home. Towards the end my legs had begun to loosen up, and I thought about adding another five miles by going up to Marshall bridge, visible from Ford Parkway bridge.
![16.jpg 16.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3081-cd3574a33cebd4416f6b89e6431a71fd.jpg)
But I decided the mission had been accomplished, I was back running again and it felt great.
6.5 mi / 10.5 km
48 F / 9C
I had been wanting to try a route extension on the Mississippi River, crossing over to historic Fort Snelling from a section on the East River Parkway that I had run just once before, to check out a trail that connects Fort Snelling Park with Minnehaha Falls Park. At first I was going to make it a long, 17-mile run-commute from my office home. But I ended up driving to work in the morning, so I had decided to just drive down to the river and do an 11-mile version, first a familiar section between Marshall and Ford Parkway bridges, and then the route extension. But as the morning wore on, I began to loose steam, still feeling the effects of my lingering sore throat/dry cough, so I ended up deciding to just do the new part, the extension, and so drove all the way down to Ford Parkway, and parked on a city street.
![Ford Parkway-7th Street Brdg.jpg Ford Parkway-7th Street Brdg.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3066-ff8ca509ab8f370a6d7cc11a610cc2df.jpg)
I was a little nervous after five days off from running, and six days since my last mezzo run. I started out stiff, but I think this was mostly due to the lingering soreness of my squat/deadlift fest two days prior. I tried focusing on getting my left foot to land more like my right, with a slight forefoot landing, while running south on the east bank,
![From East River Parkway.jpg From East River Parkway.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3065-52cd71596d4aa57a7b74d9716263bc76.jpg)
(looking northwest with downtown Minneapolis in the background)
and then crossed over the river on the 7th Street bridge,
![7th Street Bridge.jpg 7th Street Bridge.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3067-c4c61534f79948e5f207ce51d085c523.jpg)
![4.jpg 4.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3068-3a909e935f50f1cf2318c9e9f4e5c0bc.jpg)
![5.jpg 5.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3069-4a30a54b98609744aa692a1aa10285be.jpg)
to Fort Snelling.
![6.jpg 6.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3070-f9dabceb3159270515586be05f095416.jpg)
![7.jpg 7.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3071-178a9058c4dfe95034015878aeb02c07.jpg)
I hadn't been to visit Fort Snelling in decades. It was the first European outpost in this area, strategically overlooking the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers. It was a common field trip when I was in school, with pretend soldiers and traders re-enacting precolonial life.
Then I circled around the fort on a descent to the trail I wanted to check out.
![8.jpg 8.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3072-5701a50bdb2d8a347125024b589d675d.jpg)
It had pretty rough chipseal.
![12.jpg 12.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3077-69e47c9738e8a744f32f0edcd4d3b4ab.jpg)
![11.jpg 11.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3076-860e47b6c4e06608bc308072f4497a9e.jpg)
![10.jpg 10.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3075-b0522472e16e4cb0cf62572d431b0b5f.jpg)
Like Ken Bob says, harsh surfaces teach good form, and sure enough my left foot's forefoot landing became automatic at that point. It was pretty beautiful down there.
![9.jpg 9.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3074-10cddff859666ddf51b11296ae1274db.jpg)
The trail sits about halfway between the bluff and the bank. Then I resurfaced, in two senses, in Minnehaha park, ascending from the rough chipseal path to a nice smooth sidewalk up on the bluff, with Ford Parkway bridge and the lock and dam in the background.
![13.jpg 13.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3078-a0c52b0c7c2c4880dbdd7a31273ec636.jpg)
There were a lot of people checking out the falls and park on a magnificent autumn day.
![14.jpg 14.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3079-7b39958bc0256f44cf91145707af29bb.jpg)
![15.jpg 15.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3080-b480bade2467ebe585aa4aac3f72a7e0.jpg)
I felt guilty for enjoying it alone without my family. Barefoot and in my shorts and t-shirt, I felt like an alien and got a lot of looks and a few typical comments.
From there, I crossed over the Ford Parkway bridge, got back in my car and drove home. Towards the end my legs had begun to loosen up, and I thought about adding another five miles by going up to Marshall bridge, visible from Ford Parkway bridge.
![16.jpg 16.jpg](https://www.thebarefootrunners.org/data/attachments/3/3081-cd3574a33cebd4416f6b89e6431a71fd.jpg)
But I decided the mission had been accomplished, I was back running again and it felt great.