The pull

Here's what gets me out on my (somewhat) daily 4-miler: the scenery is both a distraction and a payoff.

Join me?

Fields of green and gold

 Shady, winding roads (the better to think on, my dear)

Sunlight through the trees (and, oh!, the hill...huff, huff)

And then my favorite part: the scene opens up and the sky is wide

(reminds me of home) 

What a vista. Chat with a woman in the field about a bird's egg she's found.  Say hi to the horses.

Lean over, hands on knees.  Breathe. Stand up, retrace steps, and head back home. (Downhill now!)

Splay on the grass for a few minutes' recovery and sport a red exertion face for the next hour.

Want to host a tour in your neck of the woods? Post scenes from a walk/run/ride around your neighborhood and leave the link in the comments here. Armchair travel, my favorite!

Oh, hello exercise!

Where have I been, you ask?

Oh, you know.  Around.  In bed, some mornings.  Or running here and there (but, no, admittedly not that kind of running.) There are several things that I re-learn. Again and again. And again.  And this is one of them: I am happier when I exercise.

Sigh.   

Why do I forget how great it makes me feel? Why does languishing in bed start to rule over feeling energized and lightened and vervey?  (I relate to this New Balance ad "morning") Well, I'm back after a month or two of junky sloth. Feels good. Exercise + happy music=even better:

Music Playlist at MixPod.com

Meanwhile, where's Maddy in China?

Saturday she went to see the pandas at the Beijing Zoo, then the Spirit Way.
Sunday she went to the Temple of Heaven (how very Sabbathy) and the Hongquiao Market. Then the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and the State Grand Theater in the afternoon & evening. Then they took the night sleeper train to Xi'an.
Today she went to the Han Yanling Tomb, then to a welcome lunch at the Sunshine School and met her host family (please say an extra prayer for her tonight...this is the part she was nervous about).  For the next few days, she'll attend middle school in Xi'an.

===>tired & whooped & somewhat victorious

When they called it the Mt. Tom Road to the Pogue race, I thought it was an interesting name. Hmm..what's a pogue? I asked. (It's a pond). When they said it was a "challenging but beautiful" course, I chose to emphasize the scenery aspect. Perfect. Who doesn't love beautiful surroundings?

Translation====> a 10k where you run up a mountain (ohhhhh! MOUNT Tom) and back down. A 10k that is challenging for even seasoned runners.

But, after some major qualms, I did it! It wasn't pretty but I did it. And (my only goal besides finishing) I wasn't the very last person. I was the 5th to the last person, but still. Definitely NOT last. Did I walk? Yes, on many of the steep inclines. Still, I ended up with a 12 minute pace. {Greg was a rock star! He kept a just over 9 minute pace & ran the whole thing.}

I had a minor panic attack in the parking lot before the race where I suddenly decided it was much more imperative for me to stay with the kids.

But then Lauren said: No, go do it, Mom! Do it for Dad!
Maddy said: Do it, Mom! Do it for yourself!
Sam said: Yeah! Do it for the dog! (Huh? Unsure what the connection between my running and our potential dog is???)

They were very encouraging and I didn't want to let them down. But you know what really made me keep going?

You. Or rather, knowing that I had blogged about it, had posted some rather out-on-a-limb rhetoric about going outside my comfort zone, blah, blah, blah. I was too embarrassed to come back home and say "oh yeah, about that. didn't end up doing it after all. oh well!" So thanks for being my invisible motivator. Let's hear it for accountability!

By the way, the scenery really was stunning: woods and meadows and, of course, the pogue. The outlook at the summit was breathtaking--sweeping views of Woodstock and the surrounding countryside. They had a bagpiper serenading us as we ran around the pond, a drum group cheering us on halfway through, & a fantastic breakfast awaiting us at the finish. Hindsight is so idyllic, isn't it?

* * *

Speaking of idyllic, Woodstock is such a great town. We had driven through but never stayed there. I felt like I was in Gilmore Girl's Stars Hollow, what with...

the gazebo outside our Bates-motel-style lodgings,

the quaint town announcement board

{there's our race announcement. And the oboe concert!},

the cute town center,

and (my favorite) the quirky signs.
What do you think made the pavement
so scarified?

Running out of my comfort zone

We are leaving this afternoon for an overnight in Vermont before running our aimed-for 10k in the morning.

I am kind of nervous.

I'm not sure I'm really a race kinda gal.  Years ago, when Lauren showed so much love of {and flair for} swimming, we enrolled her in a swim team.  She loved the water, the camaraderie, the gliding through the water.  After her first meet I asked "so, what'd you think? Was it great?" She thought for a minute, shrugged, and said "I like the swimming part but why does it have to be about how fast you are?"  It made me laugh at the time (it pretty much encapsulates L's approach to many things) but I think I fully know what she meant.

I love the running; but oh, the pressure! Ready, set, go! Now!

Still, it's been great to have something to shoot for.  Greg has been much more serious about the training and is completely ready.  Meanwhile, I've been banking the miles but at the same time enjoying the scenery, alternating walking and running, feeling better and stronger.  Just not necessarily faster.  

Truth be told, I'm the one putting the pressure on myself.  Who even cares if I walk the whole thing?  Nobody.  Well, me.  And there's the rub.  I'm not fond of being a beginner, a novice.  Slow.  But it's good for me. (Check out this research about the benefits of going outside your comfort zone ["the stretch zone" they call it].  Our brains like it!) And, in this case, I'll get a t-shirt out of it when it's over...

Things are looking up in winterland

the fattest robin I've ever seen, reminding me to get my sorry self out on a run

Ah, it's been a good day. I have to admit I've had the late winter blahs lately so I'd just like to thank the universe for sending me a little hope today.

1. First, things are looking up in winterland. I'm hearing birds. The air has a little (I said little) balminess to it. Rains early in the week melted almost all of the snow. The sun turned up bright and early, sheepish and penitent like a truant 7th grader: Yeah, I know. I wasn't here. I tried but I couldn't make it. But at least I'm here now...right?

2. I went on a great run. {And let me start with a bit of truth and reconciliation: lately I haven't actually been running as much as I thought I would. I know, I did this whole listen world, I'm back running announcement. But after that I've been kind of like Fred Thompson's presidential campaign: all announcement and very little running. All the usual excuses--wintry weather, sick self & kids--amounted to maybe a run or two a week for the last month. You might say I'm a fair-weather runner. And you'd be right.} But this week I found a great 4-mile loop through town and farmland that completely makes my heart sing. And pump--although I'm still run/walking. And I found a cool site that lets you map out your route & find out the distance/calories/pace, etc. No more clocking it with the car--I love technology.

3. Then this morning I happened to be online at the same time as my brother Chris, half a world away in Mali. So we spent an hour and a half chatting via instant messaging. What a luxury--to just hang out virtually and have a conversation about everything and nothing. Love that boy. Man, really. I love technology, part 2.

4. Cleared out some flower beds and generally cleaned up the yard a bit. Just my little act of faith that there will eventually be flowers there.

5. Read a good book with the sun streaming through the windows & spilling over the pages. Let myself snooze for a few minutes.

6. Had this conversation with Lauren on the way to her flute lesson:

L: today we had a speaker in Health who has HIV/AIDS [many of our conversations these days revolve around what happened in Health class that day!]. Her life story was so sad! {She goes on to give me the details of her troubled life, including abuse, alcoholism, crime, prison and generally struggling to find her way. Very heartbreaking.}

A: I know, doesn't it seem like some people just have way too many helpings of grief? Like it's just not fair?

L: Yeah, in the middle I was so sad for her. I thought "she needs a hug." [this is a standard Lauren philosophy. She makes the world better through hugs.]

A: [half kidding] So did you give her one?

L: I did! At the end I went up and said "you need a hug" and gave her a big one. I think she was surprised. She whispered "thank you."

I think I'll keep her.