Weather - 75 degrees, sunny.
My wife and I left town this weekend and returned to the place where we met 20 years ago, Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, IL. I was sickened when the mass shooting occurred there this past year, and I can't seem to feel the same way about the school because of it. But the place has not changed much, other than a slew of trashy strip malls on the outside of town, which are easily avoided. The town itself is still its sleepy, quiet self.
I woke up early this morning and left the hotel with the intention of running an easy 5 or 6 miles around campus. But I got lost in nostalgia and was visiting all the places which meant something to me - the small woods behind my dorm, the center of campus, and the bike trail that follows the Kishwaukee River. I ended up running 2 hours at a leisurely pace.
This was supposed to be an easy day, and in a way, it was, although I am not sure if running 2 hours can be considered rest the day after running a 5k. Tomorrow I am planning to do an intense hill workout, maybe I should wait until Tuesday before subjecting myself to further strain.
In the late morning we went to Lake Shabbona, about 15 miles southwest of Dekalb. I spent a lot of time hiking and reading there when I was a student, so it was a treat to see the place again. The day was beautiful, warm and windy, with no humidity. We walked a quiet trail in our bare feet, gazing at a landscape of shadowy green trees, undulating gold fields filled with flowers, and weaving rows of tilled farm land.
#240
z.m. - #153 | 