Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and go do that, because what the
world needs is people who have come alive.
I didn’t pen that, and I apologize to the author, as I’m not sure who to credit. I copied and pasted it into my notes and left out the source. I do know I LOVE IT.
When I started running earlier this year, I wasn’t sure if I should be out saving the world instead. It doesn’t matter that I have no idea how to save myself, let alone anyone else. Shouldn’t I be less selfish with my time than going for multiple hour runs, and then laying prostrate for the rest of the day? When I saw this quote, I started running longer. I come alive when I run. I come alive when I plan a run, I come alive when I talk about a run. You get the idea. I want to pass on some of my passion for this amazing sport.
I’ve been slacking on blogging, so lots to report.
My purple stripey socks shown above are from my last long run four weeks ago. It was a 16ish miler in 4:40:00. That’s a comfy 17-and-a-half minute mile pace. I don’t have a GPS, so I map my miles online. (I’d love to have a GPS watch, if anyone would like to contribute to my fancy fund!) At least I have a watch, so I can tell how long I’ve been out and whether I might likely kill my dog from being out too long. When I run slow and steady, I feel like I can run forever. I haven’t gotten to a point where I can eat much other than energy gels while running, otherwise I might.
It was an awesome run! I got out the door by 7 am to beat the heat. And it has been a toasty New England summer. Nice long uphill dirt road along a stream with TWO sets of waterfalls for six miles. I prefer technical trail runs to anything else, but I’ll take what I can get right out my back door. The next ten miles were strictly on trail, and all familiar terrain. I run quite a bit on VAST trails, mixed with local hiking trails. Some of the trails are so thick with bramble, I come out looking like I got in a knife fight.
I run as much as I can on my long tours, but there is some walking involved. Some parts of the trail are so steep, walking is all I can muster. Some times, I just need to check out cool bugs. And I talk to all the salamanders I come across. Sometimes in Spanish, when I get a little loopy in hour four. My Aggie girl and I saw two hawks, tons of squirrels, a turkey and some quail.
This was my last run in my trusty New Balance 457s from eight years ago! I love these old shoes, but my back was about to give out if I didn’t get some more support. Oh boy, I saved up for the most awesome of shoes EVER. But I’m not going to say yet what they are, so I get my butt back later this week to tell you what I got!
Thanks for reading,
Astrid
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