Back on the Trail

It rained this evening, for the first time since about April.  We were so excited that Nancy, Gavin, Dylan and I staged an impromptu game of basketball in the rain.  We all got soaked, and the three of them then kicked off their shoes and went for a walk/run around the block while I pulled a camping chair out onto the porch and enjoyed watching the water fall from the sky.

I love the rain - just wish we could have had a bit more of it.  Unfortunately I suspect it was a bit too late to save my vegetable garden.

Yesterday I did 12 muggy road miles and was slower than ten bears.  It's just not working for me at the moment, and I have taken to "easing off the back" of my little running group when I feel the need for a break.  No big deal.  I remember feeling just as crappy this time last year, and didn't run too badly that winter.

This morning I met Clea up at Walnut Creek for a pre-dawn 7 mile trail run.  It was a nice variation to our usual Sunday Danish run - I haven't run trail by headlamp since Rocky Raccoon back in February, and I loved it, loved it, loved it.  It had all the good things I'd forgotten I enjoyed about running trail, and a welcome reminder that you don't have to run crazy distances to be a trail runner.  We talked and laughed about all kinds of stuff ranging from Rick Perry to Rango (we'd both bought the movie this weekend), kept up a good pace, and I felt better and stronger the further we went.  We were even able to turn off our headlamps for the last few miles and enjoy a beautiful sunrise over the woods.  The first mountain bikers were just getting ready to set out when we finished up, and it was a good feeling to have had a good run and be done before 7am.

I'm glad I got up for it, though I was definitely cursing when my alarm clock went off this morning because I was up until the early hours reading "Catching Fire", the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  Wow, what can I say - amazingly well written, emotionally draining, tail twisting page turners out of the top drawer.  The best books I've read in a very long time.  I can't wait to start on the last book to finish out the trilogy.