Patience; the new endurance sport.

Cath and her leg need a little break today.  Well, they don't need a break, they've got a break. What she needs is to heal her stress fracture by staying off her leg.  She's out for today.  Ran in the cool morning rain (yes, rain, again) around my new favorite 6 mile loop.  So many cars heading to the cemetary today.  Everyone remembering their loved ones. 

My daugther is up at 5:30 for soccer practice, and then has cross country at 7.  I am floored soccer would be meeting so early.  It kind of gives me trouble in the morning to get her ready and then try to go run.  I'm used to getting up early enough I get the house (and the world) to myself.  But I can actually hear the grunting and chanting of the football team practicing in the mornings now by 7:00. 

The morning is, in my opinion, the first day of summer.  The morning was perectly clear, cool, but balmy.  It reminded me of the day I brought my son home from the hospital 12 years ago.  It was a cloudless, perfect morning--like today.  The view of the valley and of the lake from the bench was breathtaking.  I live for mornings like this.  I miss my trail, but the view today of the valley did me a solid.

Had a nice little afternoon jog up to the cemetary enjoying all the flowers in bloom.  Nothing has bloomed in order this year because of the cold.  Lots of snowball bush and lilac, flowering trees and irises.  Next to roses, Irises are my favorite.  There are several houses on the way to the cemetary who used lines of Irises to demarkate property lines -- so there are hundreds densely planted.  I am still  awaiting my roses.  Usually by the first week of June, they are in their glory.  They are still small tight buds, like me, awaiting the warmer weather to relax and bloom.  I felt ok on this run, but was laughing with Ericka earlier today about how neigher of us had run hardly any miles.  This will be the worst training episode to date.  I never got in a 20 miler and my hamstring kills by mile 12 so, UVM next Saturday should be "fun" :)

9:32/9:27/9:25/10:04/9:21/8:24/8:41/8:59/9:10  (9:13 AP). This was a remarkably good run for me.  Going up the canyon was HARD!  The wind blew so hard at one point, I felt like it hit me in the chest and took my breath away (a microburst that blew branches out of trees and sent leaves and debris flying).  It blew my hat  right off my head and sent it a quarter of a mile back. When the burst hit, I quickly turned my back against it to sheild my face.  As I turned around, I saw 3 other runners behind me instinctually doing the same.  It was BIG wind.  Then, of course, knowing there was a tail wind when I turned around I did what I could to run a couple of good miles.  I kept telling myself one of Smooth's mantras : the pain of running won't kill me.  So by the end, I was happy having run 3 ok miles.  I don't know what that means for next week....  even with just 9 miles, I will need to roll my hamstring.  After the marathon I'll head to Dr. Brady to see what can be done about it.  Utah Valley Marathon is a huge "?"  I've never not run a long run between marathons.  I did the best I could given the anemia situation and trying to stave off the burn out.  So we'll see what happens next week.