Day 227: Thurs March 27th - Rainy long day

Day Two Hundred Twenty-seven - Rainy long day

Started out with the plan to just cover my regular route, but ended up fitting in a much longer run with just enough time to quickly shower and hustle to work.  A great way to start off what ended up being a very busy day!

Day 226 Wed March 26th - Haunted Mansion

Day Two Hundred Twenty-six - Haunted Mansion

Not quite a mansion and most likely not haunted.  However, this view of this home always fuels my imagination.  It is actually a lovely house that I'd be happy to move into. My girls comment on it each time we run past it. They have a beautiful backyard fit for adventure. In-ground trampoline, basketball court, several decks, large wooden tree house play structure and a small part of the river in their backyard.  I think they may even have a pool on the other side. But since we cannot move into this home... I prefer to follow along with my haunted imagination each time I see it.  Boo.

Day 225: Tues March 25th - Heel Schmeel

Day 225 - Heel Schmeel

I love these mountains... so majestic and beautiful.

It just figures that after a great long run yesterday, I wake up this morning with my right heel very achy. *sigh*
So  - it was slow and steady once again and rather short....ish.  Jax also seemed to want to take it easy.
On a good note, today is supposed to be the warmest day yet this year, 72 degrees. However, it will be short lived, tomorrow a cold front with valley rain and mountain snow will settle into the area for a few days, cooling it right back down. I enjoy the up and down springlike temperatures. I love rain and can't wait to hear a good thunderstorm! 


 

Day 224: Mon March 24th - Ducks and Fairies

Day Two Hundred Twenty-four - Ducks and Fairies

Fantastic long run with Jax. It was a chilly start but quickly warmed up to be a beautiful morning, so we just kept going and going. On the way home we came to a stop and watched these 3 ducks cross the road and head straight to what I call the 'fairy patch' in a ladies front yard. Jax seemed quite curious and appeared to be waiting for me to give him permission to catch dinner, but of course I didn't let him. I made him sit patiently and wait for them to finish their waddling, watching us carefully in return as they did so.  A little lady duck and two eager lads following in close pursuit. 

Day 222 & 223: March 22nd and 23rd - Tree Trolls

Day 222 & 223 - Tree Trolls - live among us.

Saturday was a speedy run. Sunday was a relaxing run with my older daughter Siena. Jax was at the vet getting medicine for a bacterial infection he is fighting, so we went without him.  Half way through our run we stopped to swing on the swingset at the park. It was fun taking time, enjoying the beautiful morning sunshine and chatting about life and fun adventures to come. Afterwards we went home, made some almond poppy seed muffins and coffee.  A great day!

Day 221: Fri March 21st - Lucky Me?

Day Two Hundred Twenty-one - Lucky Me?

A hustling type of morning. In a hurry. Woke up 30 minutes later than usual. Rushed out the door. Ran my fast route and on the way back ran right into a half folded $20 bill in the road.  My first thought was sad for the someone missing a $20 bill.  I looked around carefully wondering who could have lost it. There was nothing and no one in sight to be the hero for and return the bill. If it were a missing item I found, I could have put it by a tree or somewhere for someone to find. But leaving money in a road, I simply cannot do.
Instead, after a few moments ... I picked it up and ran with it in my hand. 
I think I shall do something good with it.  I feel for whomever lost it. I know $20 is a good amount of money. It's not like losing a dollar bill. I would be going crazy if I lost twenty dollars. 
Any ideas of what I should do with the $20?

 
 

Day 220: Thurs March 20th - A giant troll with a large cocaine habit?

Day Two Hundred-twenty -  A giant troll with a large cocaine habit?

There is white powder every 20-30 feet on several miles of the trail. Big blobs of it on even the higher most trails. I can't for the life of me figure out what it may be.  A giant troll with a large cocaine habit who started sneezing uncontrollably on his way back to his hovel?  Some weird fertilizer that someone left in the hands of someone who did a half assed job spreading it evenly on a dirt trail that doesn't need fertilizer?  A snail bait poison which made my dog throw up his breakfast this morning after running, that they in piles with the hopes that wind picks up, spreading it evenly around 'targeted' areas?  What the heck is it?  Almost looks like ground up chalk.  It's a mystery.

 

Day 219: Wed March 19th - Goodnight Moon

Day Two Hundred-nineteen - Goodnight Moon

 

Day 217 & 218: March 17th and 18th - St.Patrick's Day and more

Day 217 & 218 - St. Patrick's Day and more....


Whoever said "dog's don't smile"... never saw a photo of our dog Jax.  Jax and Izzy helped celebrate St. Patrick's Day with a fun run through the trail and to the park. I think being outside is good for us all. There is something magical that happens to us mentally when we get outdoors, feel the wind on our face, smell the clean air and listen to the sounds around us. A place where we can run on dirt, have fun, push ourselves, turn off our busy minds and just be. 

yes... those are green eyebrows, thanks Leprechauns

Day 215 & 216: March 15th & 16th - Running on Kale

Day 215 & 216 - Running on Kale

not really kale....

I love kale. I eat a good amount in my after run smoothies and dinner salads. However, my daughters have yet to fall in love with it and often request that I not put kale in their breakfast smoothies. So, I'll let you in on a secret............shhhhhhh..........sometimes I simply forget to 'not' add it, then I add a bit more fruit, blend, pour into bold colored cups in an attempt to mask the green healthy goodness and then as a final touch, a cute straw. But what's a mom to do?  Spinach is yummy to add also, but I find you can't mask the taste as well.   It's funny how these 'superfoods' come in and out of fashion. Kale is the "it" food for the moment, though I've read information that it has been a part of peoples diets for many years. There are all sorts of variety of kale from red Russian  to dinosaur kale (my favorite). Another superfood  - Chia seeds.... yep, I have fallen prey to this fad as well and add two tablespoons each smoothie making session.  Plain greek yogurt (check), ground up flax seed (check), whey powder (check)... and lastly a bit of fruit, half banana and ice.
Blend, pour, repeat.     ~ Cheers

Day 214: Fri March 14th - Running Selfie Friday?

Day Two Hundred-fourteen - Running Selfie Friday?

I'm pretty uncool (just ask my daughters ;) and not very into the trends of the moment... but here is my attempt at a "running selfie"  ((cringe))               Bright eyes.... I look like I drank too much coffee before my run.  LOL

Jax wasn't participating.... he founds something more interesting.....

 

Day 213: Thurs March 13th - This is how I fly

Day Two Hundred Thirteen - 
 This is how I fly...

Gorgeous morning long run.  The temperature was perfect, the ground smooth and my feet soared. No heel pain today! 

The county posted several of these bird boxes on trees throughout. It's funny how you notice the slightest change(s) in an environment you have run hundreds of time, looking at them with new wonder and curiosity. Jax will often growl at something seemingly out of place on the trail, or if he doesn't happen to do a low grumble growl, his hackles will rise alerting me he sees something not usually there.  

The horses were out in pasture today. A sweet mama and her baby, munching on grass in the field. Jax didn't lunge at them in excitement this time, but rather sniffed in their direction, ears perked up and then cruised after me off-leash since he was trailing behind.

No thorns in paws + no major time limits = long run reminding me how wonderful it is to be able to run and feel joy in the moment of doing so. 

 

Day 212: Wed March 12th -

Day Two Hundred-twelve - Beep.... Beep!!

 Ran fast today....

 

Day 211: Tues March 11th -

Day Two Hundred-eleven - What a difference a day makes. 


Look at what a difference a day makes!




Yesterday morning at this time, the weather was windy and warm. 24 hours later I was running in snow, sleet and 34 degrees again.




I didn't mind however.




The past few weeks have been on the mild side, so the snowy morning and brisk temperatures made for a nice change.

Day 209 & 210: Sun and Mon March 10th -

Day 209 and 210 -
Sticks and Stones


Very warm out during this mornings run. Again, the warm before the storm. Snow is forecast for some areas within the valley.


With the exception of a couple dogs and one owner, the trail was quiet. Jax is limping again, poor guy injured his left paw a couple days ago. After giving him a few days off , I left him off leash  so he was able to go his own pace. He loved sniffing and peeing on every bush, sprinting ahead, waiting and peeing some more.


There are so many beautiful sights up here on the trail nearest the mountains.  I am excited for the wild spring flowers to come out of hiding. They will again frame the narrow northern trail with thousands of small purple blooms, so beautiful, they look like each one was perfectly painted in place. Until then, I enjoy the stones, the river and the coolest little shack / pad someone(s) built out in the field. 

Day 208: Sat March 8th - Who lost their marble?

Day Two Hundred-eight: Who lost their marble?

A singular marble.... alone, lost, unspoken for.  I snapped a photo then took it with me. It swims with a single fish now, in a tank on my kitchen counter. It glows there. Pretty in the light. It's not lost anymore.

Day 207: Fri Mar 7th - Behold

Day Two Hundred-seven: 

Behold

Day 206: Thurs March 6th - Magical moments in the ordinary

Day Two Hundred-six: Magical moments in the ordinary

The exposure of this photo came out looking like a parallel universe giving us a peek into what is possible.                                    (My interpretation)
The colors, sunlight and glow of an everyday object in the distance, became magical, in what would ordinarily.......be ordinary.  My eyes caught a glimpse, far in the distance, of what appeared to be a bright glowing globe floating just above the ground. I quickly took a photo trying to capture what I was seeing.The photo gave partial confirmation to my imagining mind, but in person from a ways back, the object gave off an intense glow and hovered as the sun threw it's rays in just the right way, making it difficult to see what was behind the mystery.
It made me think of finding magic in the ordinary. When we open our eyes to the possible, beautiful, original, and sometimes unexplainable, we are in essence, seeing magic in it's true form.

Day 205: Wed Mar 5th - Frosty with a touch of Frozen

Day Two Hundred-five: Frosty with a touch of Frozen

A bit colder this morning than I had anticipated, but still beautiful out. 
Unfortunately my heel is giving me grief again. This time it's not directly my Achilles tendon, but more so the boney part of the heel itself. I've had this plague me before, but it was in my late teens years ago. I think the day to day running stress is aggravating my heel.  Frustrating, since the heel is quite   
an unforgiving place to have an injury.The bone area of my heel is swollen, but not a blister from rubbing, more like a growing bone spur. Each footfall is a reminder.  The pain can be quite intense, at least during the first mile or so. Then it seems to lessen a bit and I am able to ignore and enjoy the rest of my run.  I use ice, yoga and stretching to lessen the pain and lengthen my Achilles and calf... but so far it isn't doing much. Any suggestions?  'Not running' cannot be one of them however.  At least not yet. :/

Day 204: Tues Mar 4th - Rocky Path

Day Two Hundred-four - it's a Rocky Path....watch out

This photo was actually taken the day before, it was much too dark earlier this morning, so my original photo ended up a dark gray blur. Right now I'm listening to the rain outside.  I wish I were running right now. The rain storm smells fresh and is quite lovely. I've enjoyed the warm Spring temperatures we've had lately, but I love a good rain storm. I feel for the seemingly endless freezing storms plaguing the East coast.

Day 202 & 203: March 2-3rd - Contrast

Day 202 and 203 - Contrast

 

SUNDAY

MONDAY

Day 201: Sat March 1st - Windy

Day Two Hundred-one - Windy Saturday

I'd like to curse the wind for NOT cooperating with me this morning. 
If the wind is blowing against you with all it's might uphill on the way to the trail, wouldn't it make sense that on the way back down it would help push you along? Not this morning!   Instead it pushed against me just as much on the way back home.  Whew.... the wind must have been in a bad mood, for it even blew down this innocent tree.  Ha.