There’s talk around these parts that the snow up there on these hills might soon be falling as low as sea level.
Nosey Dog
Sure that he’s got to be missing out on something, Ronin sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong: my room.
heaven on earth
As more and more time passes where life’s little happenings keep me from my marathon training, worry builds up. I’d be lying if I told you that I was confident that my training was finally going to get going. This just wasn’t so. In fact, more and more, I was waiting for the other shoe to drop so-to-speak.
On Saturday morning, I noted how NOT ready-to-run I was feeling. I tried to go through the motions but felt apprehensive and unmotivated. And I nearly rescheduled the run for the following day simply to be able to go with my cute male companion for the bulk of the miles. That was until we began talking the logistics of running on Super Bowl Sunday. Our planned parties were already dictating our end time and therefore limiting our run locations. I decided to go it alone.
I drove out to the Ranch for a scenic bit of trail running. Shortly after heading out, I found my groove. I ran on and on..until I’d finally hit my targeted turn-around point. Before turning back, I decided to detour off the main path and stretch on the hillside just up the little path to the right.
I stretched briefly and then suddenly, as if a blindfold had just been removed, I noticed a beautiful expanse of unexplored trail. You could say I’d found a little slice of heaven on earth. So, I decided to run just a wee bit more.
…then more,
…and more,
…until I was standing beside a little creek at the bottom of the hill.
And then, I ran back. I arrived back at my car, tired and thrilled that I was still capable of going long.
In the Enchanted Forest
I wish I could tell you that my marathon training is back on track, that I’m now running easily and without incident. Sadly, that has not been the case.
On Saturday, I set out for my long run and, once again, got tripped up. Less than 3 miles from home, I was face to face with the pavement again. I was on a rock for a few minutes assessing the damage: the just-formed scab was now on the inside of my pants and blood was running down the front of leg for the 2nd time in one week. I decided that this was not to be come back day and, in tears, I called my friend, Wendy to pick me up.
Trying to analyze but not get hung up on my recent tendency towards tripping, I began asking questions of myself. My first consideration was whether or not the changes in my vision since my Lasik surgery in 2000 could be at the root of my falls. At an eye appointment later in the day, I posed the question. I knew the answer before I asked the question. Although the circumstances around each of these falls involved my looking at one thing and missing another, my vision is not so bad as to be the cause.
The more obvious etiology of my tendency towards hitting the pavement remains: I have a tendency towards dragging my right foot. While I can easily blame it on residual effects from a childhood illness, the fact is I’ve been dealing with this for most of my life. I know I do it. The bottom of my Vibram Bikilas clearly show it, as does my medical record at Kaiser. The question is, what am I going to do about it?
My main goal was to get back out there — using caution but not so much that it prevents me from enjoying the free feeling that running gives me.
Pokie-balls at sunset
YaYa has been working on his 1-mile run. I took this picture while waiting for him to return from his 2nd lap around the block. He and Ronin ran the 2-lap run, totaling 1.05 miles, in 7 minutes 27 seconds. Unfortunately, the photos I tried to take of him running were not so good. So pokie-balls at sunset is all you get this week.