1. Somehow I found myself in Pittsburgh, where the views were impressive but — thanks to the altitude and steep climbs — hard-earned, at least while I was running.
2. It was also about twenty degrees colder than it was New York. And windy.
3. But there was something familiar about the forlorn woods and overcast sky.
4. I ran through these woods a lot when I was a kid.
5. It’s comforting to see the old bridges and creeks.
6. And the oak leaves resting on the gnarled roots.
7. And the ferns that glowed when there was a break in the clouds.
8. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is filled with tunnels. On one side is the west, whose haunted landscape is marked with hills and forests.
9. While the other side is flat, under a sky so blue that it could break.
