I stayed up late completing the finishing touches on my Mom’s quilt last night. We are finally celebrating the holidays today so I needed to complete it. The top has been done for weeks, but I hadn’t found the right fabric for the backing and border. Additionally, the feed-dogs of the sewing machine were giving me trouble. As I worked, our dog lay by my side looking pained as he hoped that I would be retiring soon. I finished about midnight and made my way upstairs. I had already set out running clothes for the morning run. I put them on and adjusted the alarm clock 20 minutes later than my previously planned wake up time.
For today’s run, we explored some new territory. I chose the more difficult direction to run this loop in order to avoid coming down a steep single-track. The path taken was a steep climb almost from the start of the run. My legs protested as I ran up the never-ending hill. My breathing was heavy and my body heated up quickly. Mark, Cindy and I were a cheery bunch – talking, groaning, and greeting people along the way. I knew that the GPS had shorted us about ½ a mile as this was a measured path. Still, true to form, I ran two additional laps around the track when we returned to our cars.