Patience; the new endurance sport.

I waited until 9 pm to run. It was so dry and hot, and the air quality so bad. A runner went by in the afternoon breathing through a handkerchief and when he saw me watering the roses, he jogged up and asked me to spray him down. Why was he jogging at 101 degrees? And he was an older guy too with a UVM shirt, he should have known better. By 9 it was windy, blowing around the settled smoke and smog. It was perfect. I felt amazing. I clipped along at a good ap(9:50) it got cooler and cooler as I went. I ended up at Rock Canyon park running the path and getting hit by sprinklers. I felt like a kid, running in the dark soaking wet. It was delicious. Then the breeze cooled me down even more. It wasn't a pretty night out, but I definitely go the best of it. Furthermore, it was strange, there was hardly anyone out and about. I had the streets and the park to myself.

9:25/10:33/10:46/9:47/9:22/10:19. Ap 10

It's a bad idea to run after eating about a pound of Carmel popcorn your neighbor friend made for you and brought over 5 minutes before you run. But whatever....

I have been loving to run at night. It's cool and I feel free that all my duties are behind me. Also. The sprinklers go off at night and I find intense, almost perverse pleasure running into the sprinklers at full speed. So while the lovers are making out in the dark spaces of the park I am running along the path laughing by myself and soaking wet praying not to trip in the dark.

It was really rainy this morning so I put off running until noon.  It was still cool, and muggy when I left.  Humid running reminds me of running in DC, NYC, or Boston.  The rivulets of sweat coming off your arms and face is deeply satisfying.  Usually Utah is so dry the sweat leaves salt patches on your neck and arms.  Not today.  I ran a little over two miles up the canyon with a handsome young lawyer visiting from Syracuse NY.  I seem to know a lot of people from Syracuse these past few years.  We chatted about upstate NY, weather, people we might know in common from here and there. He's here doing something for BYU law school and knows a few friends of friends (Moms of his friends and other Lawyers I know)  I was 23 years old when he was born.  I can't believe that there is an entire lifetime between how old I am and those in their 20's.  

I have decided that 9-10 p.m. is my new best running time.  Giving my best energy in the morning to running is no longer wise considering my changing family structure/needs.  I've got to reserve a lot of mental energy for the hours of 4-9 p.m.  If I run in the morning, that energy runs very low during those hours. Since my teenagers have begun a lives of their own it seems more important than ever that I be able to stay alert when they are most likely to talk to me which is either breakfast or bedtime. Though they get up at 7 a.m. to do cross country, soccer,basketball--they seem to function on 6-7 hours of sleep then come back to nap.  I do not have the luxury of napping and can not function on anything less than 8 hours of sleep.  I only have 4 more years total of trying to be a mother. I am in the home stretch. So I think I'm going to make it a habit to run during the hour they are getting ready for bed.  Also, running before bed has felt good because all the stress and anxiety of the day is behind me and running feels more like a celebration than a duty.  I'm happy to report that my AP is back in the 9:40 range which feels like a relief (like maybe I'm not dying after all).  This week my praise and thanks goes to Augmentin and Prednisone.  Aside from the weight I've gained from being on steroids, I am so grateful to whoever determined that suppressing your immune system could stop skin infections/hives/poison ivy/shingles, and arthritis from torturing you unto death.  I have NEVER been more miserable than I was for those 3 weeks with those weeping disgusting rashy blisters and open wounds all over my legs and torso and forearms.  It looked like leprosy.  I am so very grateful not to itch.  Itching is the worst kind of hell and feels like being burned alive.   Anyway, nice day for a run today.  I've had a pretty good running week taking it easy and enjoying the sprinklers and rain.