With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams...

went for two 2 mile walks today

felt good to walk....the weather was beautiful.  If it weren't for the pollen, we'd have opened all the windows. 

a week later, my mizunos are finally dry &  ready to run in again.

slept in, and went out at 9.  Too warm. Gonna have to get up a little earlier even though I'm on break so I can beat the heat

progressive run, but slow.  10:06- 9:00.  legs were still tired from Saturday.  that run took a lot out of me!

woke up earlier, and it was still dark.  I refuse to run in the dark when I don't have to.  So I ate breakfast and got some things done around the house until it was light outside.  By mile 1.5, I'd turned east and saw the sun coming up above the trees and housetops.  It was beautiful...the bright orange color of orange-juice!

It was cool enough too.  Started with a light jacket on, and by mile 3 took it off & enjoyed the morning run.  The wisteria is in full bloom everywhere now too.  It's eye candy for me to see all the beautiful flowers and trees.  The pear tree blossoms are almost all gone by now & replaced with leaves.  When the wind blows, the remaining blossoms blow and it looks like snow. 

Sorry to all of you out west who have real snow. 

tried running on the treadmill in the am....talk about drudgery!  2 miles was enough.

In the pm, I was inspired to see all the other runners out on the street, so I ran from our hotel along the main street to where it dead ended & back.  On the run out, I was pleased to see that the wind had finally died down and wasn't roaring like it had been all day.  Then I turned around and realized it was still roaring, it was just at my back for the last 2.8 miles.  Oh dear...the run home was a little more work than the run out.  I got to enjoy the sunset when I was finishing up my last mile and walking back to the hotel. 

Wrightsville beach is beautiful.  A small island off the NC coast near Wilmington.  It is the beach where the book Dear John takes place.  I didn't know this until I sat down to read the book while I was there. I bought it on a whim before we drove out there.  A little ironic that the book I picked to read on vacation was about a couple who were at the same beach.  Just made the book all the better to read.

On a personal note...teenagers drive me insane!

The wind was (for lack of a better word in my brain right now).....very windy.  13-20 mph, which can sting a little when it's blowing sand at you.   But all worth it for a morning run on the beach.

This am I ran into the wind first...much better plan than yesterday.  I ran south to the end of the island, and turned around when it started heading north again and turned into private piers.

It was 1.82 miles to the turn around point, so to get 4 I had to overshoot the hotel by .4 miles.  I just kept running and walked back for a cool down.  I found a couple neat seashells along the way, and despite my initial intentions to not run with my hands full of seashells, I ended up with 4 after all.  One for each mile.

Beautiful run...looking forward to going home & sleeping in my own bed.

And teen-agers still drive me insane!!!  How could I have ever been one of them???

wasn't really sure where I was going or how far when I started out.  I just knew I needed to run.. I wasn't feeling like a winner this morning.

So I started out the way i usually do, but figured I go out of the hood on the main road since it was daylight and not too much traffic.  Thought I'd go 6 miles, then decided I might as well just do 8, and felt so good I went for 10.  My body was getting tired by mile 10, but I think it was just my brain tricking me because I knew I was almost done.  Average pace 8:55.

It was cooler today (thank goodness) and there was a nice wind at times so I decided to keep my jacket on the entire run.  Clouds overhead sprinkled on me now and then, and just as I finished the run, the last of the clouds passed by the sun, and it was clear blue skies for my 1/4 mile walk home. 

Here's some things I learned on my run: 

• I love to see new crops growing in the fields, and the farmers out on their tractors, but the smell of a field freshly fertilized is noxious.
• I love chicken.  Fried, baked, grilled, anyway you do it....I love chicken.  But seeing all the chickens on the truck smashed together in the cages and smelling them drive by made me wonder if I'd be okay with eating mushroom burgers the rest of my life.
• Spring is beautiful.  Running down the road surrounded by new green leaves on everything, and seeing the flowers all in bloom, it really is amazing.  Just a month ago, everything looked so dismal.  I wish it could always be spring, and that I would always keep my sense of wonder and amazement at the beauty surrounding me.
• wherever you go, there you are

Happy running everyone!

No run today.   Helped with Special Olympics Swim Meet in Chapel Hill.