Patience; the new endurance sport.

I paced 8.30 minutes a miles.   I've decided that running 3-4 miles is like living in the torture zone.  You really don't hit your stride until 4 miles.  Today felt great, but it was hot and windless.  Today was the first premonition of summer.

1.  My favoirte fluted reed grass is now a foot tall (at mile 1 1/4 on the trail).

2.  The turtle is laying her eggs by the bird reserve.

3.  The clouds of mosquitos make a demonic high pitched hum that is frightening.

3.  The sun is above the mountains by 6:40.

4.  The lake is the kind of mirrored glass that can only be acheived on windless summer mornings. 

Happy Monday!

Neither Amanda or I got to bed before midnight, so today was a struggle.  But we still managed to run hard.  She's not game for the 6 miles a day.  Her relay legs will only be 3 and 5. So five is her limit.  So I'll go back to six a day in a few more days or I'll just let her get off the trail and do that one extra.  We'll see.  Thankfully today was cooler.  Man, yesterday was a killer (I went 10 mintues later than usual--what a difference 10 mintues makes when the sun is up).

I have run on my own most of my life, but in the last few years I have found great friendship and therapy in my running friends.  I am enjoying the last few morning runs with Amanda and I will be sad when she's moved away.  Regular friendships are just not as durable, flexible, single minded, reliable, punctual, and consistant as a running good partnership.  She pointed out a mutual friend in our neighborhood who might be looking for a training parnter (also training for St. George).  I actually enjoy being on my own more than I enjoy running with others, generally.  But this will be sad for me to give up Amanda who could run with me in the dead of winter, on packed ice, in pitch blackness--without a word of complaint or a single excuse.  It's that kind of toughness that wins my respect, and is so hard to find in a friend.   So I'm giving up my goal this week of doing extra mileage in exchange for that last bit of 'road therapy.'  It rained lightly today. The air was heavy with moisture, and everything was green and fragrant.  It was truly a gift to be outside this morning.

I wondered why in the blog template, they make you log your sleep hours. But I can definitely see a pattern. Under 8 hours makes for harder running. Plus it was windy today. Running in the wind is like swimming against a rip-tide. Those little back birds that usually fly together as a single fast-moving black cloud, were scattered all over the sky. They were diving and twirling over the pastures, practicing their maneuvers in the wind. My roses will never bloom in this cold. Monday was so hot I wasn't sure how I'd get through the week, and today it must be 40 degrees. Who's in charge of all this weather business? I want to talk to whoever is in charge.

If someone handed me two million dollars today to buy a whole new house, I still don't think I'd move.  I would rather have more surgery, than to have to pack or carry furniture right now. I'll help Amanda do it. But when I have to do it again, I think I'll just walk out the door with a suitcase and sell everything left behind.  We did 4 today in favor of doing less miles (instead of none) before a longer run tommorrow.  I won't go more than 10 tommorrow.  I'm actually looking forward to doing the 6  every day next week to see if I hold up 'fresh' for the weekend.  At least the weather is fine. I'm glad I could get that all that straighted out for the weekend.   Happy Friday!!

Ok, give me a break. I "slept" in a tent with 6 kids under the age of 10 last night. I know! Last night! Remember all that wind and rain that woke you up at 3:00 a.m.? Well I was sleeping outside in it. By 8:00 p.m. last night I pleaded with them "Why tonight" I asked. "It's going to be windy and it may rain." "But Mommy, you promised!" they cried at me. "You promised that when school was out we could have a sleep over with --with every kid on our block--in the tent in the back yard." I hate that.  I always keep my promises. I hate it even worse that I am so paranoid I can't just let them sleep by themselves out there. Even worse, I hate that what that means to me is running eight-and-a-half miles he next morning with sciatica. The good part was, the morning was post rain-fresh (and by morning, I mean 9:30 a.m.---I kinda missed my mark with the rain and all). But the birds with the yellow head, and the black birds with the red diagonal stripe across the tops of their wings were out in record numbers. I practically crawled today, but it was luscious all the same.