Patience; the new endurance sport.

First time in 2 weeks we've been in the same place for more than 2 days. The day was gorgeous, but 2 below 0 (celcius). They gave me free access to the gym and it's so much easier to do my running there than on the street. I hate to report that's how I finished up my trip--running on the treadmill-but it's the truth. The one thing I can say after spending a few hours in the gyms here is, their soap opera's beat ours and also, Americans have more attractive butts. For some reason, even slender people here have very low, flat derriere's. So there is that. Only 2 more days to walk down the street Anibal Pinto, Caipolican, Manuel Montt, Pablo Neruda or Vicuna McKenna (every town in Chile have these street names). Anyway, I've eaten so much white bread, beef, manjar (dulce de leche) and avocado, I'm going to need a seatbelt extender on the airplane ride home. We're going now to visit a volcano (Villa Rica/Pucon) as a last huurah. The landscape here, the Arucaria trees, snow capped volcanos, crystilline lakes, and 100 shades of green, are beyound comparison. Maybe something like Oregon or Washington state. It's been a spectacular visit. But I will not miss eating dinner (steak, fish & potatoes) at 10:30 at night. Also, looking forward to fresh water. No one drinks 'agua natural" here, and it's considered bad manners to serve it. It's ironic, because the water here is as sweet and clean as my favorite fountain that runs out of the mountain in Provo Canyon. Tomorrow is my last day to run, and if it's a pretty tomorrow as it is today, I'll brave the street dogs and whistleing men.

It just took 28 hours to fly home.  I'm beat, but I did my best to put in a little jog.

Just got home, closed on the house.  I weigh exactly 8 pounds more than when I left....lowered mileage coupled with lard really puts on the weight.

Doing my best to just stay moving. 

Ran 16 with Catherine up and down Provo Canyon. Neither of us hand a single drop left in the tank.  Both of us are moving this next week and Park City Marathon looms like a funny joke in our minds.

Did my best to get the run in early.  I have so much to do getting back to work, getting the house moved, etc.  Today my daugther and her friends all showed up at 7:00 to run.  I love her little girl-friends.  They are so energetic and full of life. 

No one wanted to run with me today.  I'm feeling less anxious about the weight I gained in Chile.  I think at least 2-3 pounds of it was water retention from the TWENTY-EIGHT hour flight home.  That fell off in just  a few days.  Now I'm down to the real 5 pounds of dulce de leche on my hips.

Jaylyn showed up again this morning to run.  She and her sister Maya, and my daugther and a few other friends of theirs have taken turns running with me in the mornings.  It's been so much fun to have their silly, girly company. They talk about soccer, how they want to decorate their houses, who should run for student body president.  I love it.  Jaylyn and her sisters are fantastic, natural atheletes.  Jaylyn likes to sprint the last .2 miles toward home and when she takes off, she sails straight and smooth ahead of me.  You know they're good when they make it look easy.  Jaylyn is just brimmng with promise and goodness it fills my heart to watch her take it full board.

My little neighbor Maya came over to run 5 miles with me.  AP 9:40.  Not bad for an 11 year old.  Maya beats my son in all the track meets at the 200 in the 400.   She's really talented. She stuck with me all 5 miles even when she could have easily gotten off the trail at 4 miles.  These kids are so full of strength and beauty, it's giving me energy just to run along side them this Summer. 

I found out I didn't actually register for this marathon about half way through my vacation to Chile.  I thought I'd registered for Utah Valley, Ogden, and Park City on the same day in May.  But didn't realize I hadn't included Park City until I never got any emailed info prior to the race.  Anyhow, Cath, who leaves the state on Monday really, really (ahem) "encouraged" me to run with her and went to greath lengths to assure that I come run this thing with her.  Although both of us had, within days of this race, packed our entire lives into boxes and made the heroic effort of moving, we absolutely enjoyed the experience of 'one last race' together.    We got to registration proptly at 5:00.  I loved the vibe of the race.  It was small, well organized, and manageable.  We bumped into Maruine and Smooth. We chatted with Smooth at the start and ran an easy 5 mile warm up with her.  We lost Smooth at the first of our many POP and stretching stops along the way.  I was however, overjoyed at the ease in which I was able to bandit right into the start.  I wanted to come clean to the race director while Cath picked up her race number and t-shirt, but I learned from a reliable source that it would be a better idea to beg forgiveness, rather than ask permission (and absolutely be denied).  The day was warm to begin with and by the time the sun rose there were waves of heat flushing off the dirt.  Luckily (or not) the headwind kept the sweat cool....I was in awe of the trail run, the open fields, the streams along the course, the sculputre and rock gardens that all appeared unannounced along the trail. The day was crystal clear, the skies were blue, the trail wide and uncrouded.  Cath and I often felt like the only people in the race (until we saw the fast runners coming down the hill as we went up the hill at Deer Valley, very much in contrast of our easy-breezy attitudes).  Those continual up-hill climbs, particularly the ones that continued AFTER the hill leading up to Deer Valley got to me.  I've never, ever, walked during a marthon except at the drink station, but going up Park Ave. I totally threw in the towel.  I told Cath I needed to keep every penny in the bank if she wanted me to finish the race, and so I walked up it.  I even took a mint candy from one of the kids offering it to the runners (since when do I need a breath mint while running a marathon? but I was way off my game anyway ...so just give me the candy, whatever).  Everytime we saw an uphill after that we just laughed, it was too funny to be running that course so pitifully unprepared and exhausted already.  She knew more about the course beforehand, but I was along for the bumpy ride.  Anyway, I can not remember any particular portion of the course because I let my mind wander and I was shuffleing along listening to Cath and getting myself worked up over how hard my week had been dealing with my sister, my husband, work and the move.  It was less like a  marathon, and more like a therapeutic long run with my best friend--only in a place, and on a course neither of us expected to be so beautiful (or so hard!).  I will register for next year, and give it better effort.  Because truly, the challenge and the beauty of the course really appealed to me.  But for this time, I enjoyed seeing friends, being outside, giving my last running moments of this summer to Cath who I will dearly  miss.