Gratitude, and a Lack of Good Judgment
I have spent a lot of time lately just thinking about how miraculous it is that I share the same space in the universe as my husband, my son, and our sweet dog. It is such a privilege to know them, and I am grateful every day for the time we have together.
At the beginning of the summer, I was not running. Then I was walking or running slowly, and never for very long. I hiked and I didn't worry about wearing a watch. I allowed things to change, and I made sure I was always having fun. Usually, this meant I covered around fifteen miles each week, more or less. I still went to the Saturday morning social runs with Birmingham Track Club. Sometimes I ran nine-minute miles, and sometimes I ran twelve-minute miles. I met with friends for long, leisurely trail runs. I learned to love the summer heat, and I respected the way it affected my body.
About a month ago, I noticed that I was doing about 80% of my running on trails or sod. I added more mileage and felt surprisingly healthy. My friend Katherine (above) told me she registered for a winter ultramarathon on trails, and I agreed to show her some of the off-road running spots around town. We ran on power line easements, cross country courses, tarmac tracks, golf courses, hiking trails, and fire roads.
This week, Katherine told me she signed up for a 21k trail run as a "tune up" before her winter training. The race has a really cool t-shirt, so naturally I signed up. Also, it's tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a day of stomping around in the woods with Katherine and about a hundred other close friends. My plan is to run but not race, and definitely wear the t-shirt for the rest of the week.
See you guys on the flip side!
At the beginning of the summer, I was not running. Then I was walking or running slowly, and never for very long. I hiked and I didn't worry about wearing a watch. I allowed things to change, and I made sure I was always having fun. Usually, this meant I covered around fifteen miles each week, more or less. I still went to the Saturday morning social runs with Birmingham Track Club. Sometimes I ran nine-minute miles, and sometimes I ran twelve-minute miles. I met with friends for long, leisurely trail runs. I learned to love the summer heat, and I respected the way it affected my body.
About a month ago, I noticed that I was doing about 80% of my running on trails or sod. I added more mileage and felt surprisingly healthy. My friend Katherine (above) told me she registered for a winter ultramarathon on trails, and I agreed to show her some of the off-road running spots around town. We ran on power line easements, cross country courses, tarmac tracks, golf courses, hiking trails, and fire roads.
This week, Katherine told me she signed up for a 21k trail run as a "tune up" before her winter training. The race has a really cool t-shirt, so naturally I signed up. Also, it's tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a day of stomping around in the woods with Katherine and about a hundred other close friends. My plan is to run but not race, and definitely wear the t-shirt for the rest of the week.
See you guys on the flip side!
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