....On My Mind....

I've been thinking about it ever since our run on Saturday. I didn't think about it as we ran down the street. Well, I think it was the street. I'm not positive which street it was, but I think we ran down that same street. We were on the other side though, and I was just chatting with my friends and concentrating on the hill to come, and I ran right by where it was, or might have been. We had just been running along - like we were on Saturday - that Saturday several weeks earlier, when we turned onto that same street. Chatting and running. We saw it in the middle of the road and kept chatting - teasing each other about something I'm sure - laughing. Then we realized it was an animal - hit by a car - not moving - dead. Lots of wild animals get hit around here - usually squirrels, or opossums or raccoons. This one had golden fur though. Maybe a cat - probably a cat. As we neared, the chatter and laughing died down a bit. The cat's fur was moving slightly in the breeze (or did I imagine that afterwards?). It wasn't until we were right next to it that one of us - who? - said, "no, it's a dog". And it was a dog. A pomeranian. An indoor breed usually. Someone's lap dog. Golden fur. The same golden as my dogs. Much smaller of course. Mine were Golden Retrievers. Lying in the middle of the street. Someone's looking, searching, panicking, calling out the car window. I'm sure of it. Perhaps with the children in the backseat gripped in the fear of not-knowing. Or, an elderly couple, equally frightened. It had to be moved. They couldn't find it in the middle of the road - mutilated by some car coming down the hill. I can't remember if there was snow on the ground yet. No, I don't think so. But it was cold out. Cold enough that I had worn gloves for the run. A small pool of blood had formed around it's mouth. Other than that, it could have been sleeping. When I lifted the body it felt like my dogs had felt. Not stiff - but stiffening. Hard to describe, but equally not-scary - as I had thought it would be. I laid it in the grass. Between the fence and the sidewalk. It would be visible there but not threatened by tires. They would find it - looking like it was simply sleeping. A peaceful death. I petted it's fur down where it had been mussed by the wind. A brief pause as my dogs flashed in my mind - being lowered into the holes we had dug in our garden. I had petted their fur too. Didn't want it to be mussed. Peaceful. The group was silent for the next half mile or so. Sort of lost in our thoughts I guess. Petting their own Golden fur perhaps. The chatting started softly, tentatively, finally resuming it's usual gaiety. It's been on my mind.

Christmas Day Run

It was a traditional Christmas morning - presents under the tree, A Christmas Story on the TV, and cinnamon rolls in the oven..... It was a nice, relaxed, fun, family day. After the wrapping paper was cleaned up and boxes stacked and too many cinnamon rolls consumed, it was time to "letharge". That's our term for sitting around reading, napping, digesting cinnamon rolls... - just a lazy, hazy time. After an hour or two of that it was time to don my new running vest and headlamp and head out the door to run with George from the running club. He and I ran through the snow and ice and talked and ran and listened to the bells on my shoes and had a wonderful time. We ran until his Garmin verified that our five miles was complete and then we walked and talked for a bit and headed back out into the snow and ice in our respective vehicles with the sweat and fatigue that comes from a good run. Nice!

Beautiful Day!

It was gorgeous outside yesterday - fat, fluffy flakes falling. The snow reflected the ambient light and it brightened everything. I convinced Elliot to join me on the cross country skis and we toured the neighborhood and the school grounds. Everything is prettier covered in snow. It's quieter too. We returned home and I started to shovel the drive, but then decided I liked the look of it better with the snow. I took some pictures. In the late afternoon several neighbors got together and we all decided to go sledding. Fun! Although it was a bit of a workout climbing the sledding hill each time I rode down it, somehow I still felt the need for a run. I moved a few things in the garage (didn't I just clean this place?!) and put the ramp down on my dreadmill. At 8:30pm I pounded out four miles. Felt good. I guess for the next week or so (until it gets less slippery out there) I'll be getting to know my friend, Dred (makes him seem like a cool Caribbean bartender when I call him by this moniker). Yep, me and Dred - we're going to have fun!

Been Doing Some Running....

Despite the fact that I haven't written about it - I have been doing some running lately. After the Victoria Marathon my next race was Autumn Leaves 50k. We carpooled down to Portland and stayed at Jenny's parent's house. They were away on a trip but they were kind enough to let us bunk down there. We got up before the crack of dawn (or the middle of the night as I see it) to take the early start. It was my first "Ultra" and I ran it with Michelle and Margaret. It was just plain good fun. Margaret and I were both "Ultra Virgins" so our plan was to run with Michelle - an "Ultra Connoisseur". There was a short out and back at the start and then a 5-mile loop that took us along a river and through the fallen leaves. We had fun - dawdled at the fueling stations, talked to other runners, kicked up the leaves, sang songs, made jokes - it was very nice. Once again though, I had too much energy left at the end to feel like I had given it my all. Just like my first marathon though, I think it only encouraged me to want more. I can't wait to run another 50k and see what kind of time I can make!

My next race was the Seattle Ghost Marathon the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I had really planned on doing a double this year - the Ghost and then the Seattle - but that was not to be. It was going to be the first time my son would be home after leaving for college and I just didn't feel right taking all that time for myself. I wasn't going to run either race until Michelle mentioned that maybe I could work it out so that Elliot could spend time with his friends while I was running. I talked to him about that and in the end he thought it was a good plan too. Soooooo, I was able to run the Ghost - a race I really wanted to run because so many of my running friends would be there too. My husband drove me to the race and hung out with Sonya for awhile, did some wine shopping, and then met me at the finish. I ended up starting the race with Tom and Dan - both of whom planned on running a 4:15 or so. I planned on a 4:30 so I thought I'd just hang with them for the first half or so. It was a perfect day and the route runs right along Lake Washington and is fairly flat. Dan, Tom and I kept a conversation up while moving at a pretty fair clip. Eric ran with us for a short while on several occasions. I had forgotten my Garmin and there were no mile markers so I relied on Dan and Tom for pace information. We hit the halfway mark at 1:58. Not good! I was too far ahead of my pace - I knew I needed to back off a bit. At mile 15 or so Tom and Eric started pulling away from Dan and me. I was OK with that - I didn't want to burn out at the end and I was afraid I would if I kept up the faster pace. At mile 17 or so I started pulling away from Dan. He was tiring and I had caught up to a Maniac (number 365) I had never met before and he and I started to talk. Nice guy, nice pace. We ran and talked for several miles - then I began to tire and I felt the need to walk. Number 365 pulled away. Once I wasn't talking anymore I slowly gained on him until I caught up. Again, we started to talk and after a few miles I needed to slow my pace again. This cat and mouse game continued until the end of the race. I felt strong clear to the end and was very pleased with my time of 4:14! Happy and content!

This last week was a little tough running-wise because of the stress of work, holidays, and planning for a formal meal for 17 members of an investment group we belong to. I wasn't able to run for 5 days straight. Not good. I get sad when I don't run on a regular basis. This time was no different. With the way things were going I wasn't going to be able to run for several more days either. Egads!! Then, a gift from above - snow!! Three snow days in a row and the dinner is done (well-done I might add), the packages are mostly sent, and vacation from school has begun. But, more importantly, I've been able to run!! I put large jingle bells on my trail shoes today and ran to the Post Net through the snow to send my Ohio gifts. My son ran with me. We loved it!! Happy happy!!