Day 31: Thurs Sept 12th - Dream

Day Thirty-One: Cool and sprinkling rain this morning. The clouds hung low again along the Wasatch front and the breeze help keep my feet light on the ground (or so I imagined it to).
Today I didn't bring my dog Jax with me to run. Poor guy was lagging behind yesterday, so I think he could use a little break.
There were so many beautiful things to take a photo of this morning. I had a hard time deciding until I came to this sign which I've seen before usually faded at the top of the trail on my way home.
I've glanced at this sign a hundred times and thought how cute and quaint. But today it stood out having been freshly chalked or touched up with colors. "Dream".....it says simply. It reminded me that we are never too old to dream. We dream and move towards our goals, experiencing the journey in-between the dream and the accomplishment. Then we dream our next dream.  This is so true with life, goals, races or just simply the act of lacing up our shoes and heading out the door... experiencing the footfalls, beauty, smells, and unique places our feet take us. Then we finish, unlace our shoes, revel in the accomplishment of that day's run... then dream of the next one.

Day 30: Wed Sept 11th - One Month Down

Day Thirty September 11th:  Lovely drizzly morning.   The clouds had just finished pouring buckets of rain on the ground before I went outside.  I could see them hanging low in the sky, so fluffy. - like a sponge that was squeezed out and filled with fresh air. It was warmer than I expected it to be, but refreshing.
Jax seemed pretty tired though. He was lagging behind. I think I will give him a break. 
Today marks a month so far!  Only 11 more to go. No rush though. I want to enjoy every minute of Autumn. 

Day 29: Tues Sept 10th - Thorns on Paws

Day Twenty Nine September 10th: Fantastic run. Wish they were all like today. I am thankful however for this moment. It was a cool start, fast and easy. Jax occasionally will get small thorns in his paws from these weeds growing on the trails. Despite my trying to avoid them. He is great at letting me know by slowing and lifting the paw with the thorn embedded. I stop, brush it off and we head off again. Good doggie. 

Day 28: Mon Sept 9th - Trails

Day Twenty Eight September 9th: Autumn is in the air.  I love this part of the trail.  I find it interesting that the feel of my run changes depending on where I am.  When I am on the trails I feel fast and ease up and down, across the rocks, roots and the occasional dog poop that people don't pick up (shame on the dog owners that leave their dog poop :)  But when I am running on the roads I often will feel slower and my aches and pains surface. So today... I am thankful for trails! 

Day 27: Sun Sept 8th - It's Raining Apples

Day Twenty Seven September 8th:  What a glorious Sunday morning. Woke up to rain. Lot's of rain.  Izzy and I quickly went out on the road / trail. We were worried we would miss running in the rain.  Izzy started out rescuing snails.  After we got to the trail the rain lightened up a bit. The beauty and the smell of rain was amazing. Just a few days ago the river was barely a trickle. Today it was fast and full.We found some wild apples and spent about 15 minutes running back and forth on the bridge, making wishes and watching the apples bob under our feet to the other side being carried down the fast current, laughing and having a great time. The rain then picked up again and we ran home. It was wonderful. Moments like that make me happy. 

Day 26: Sat Sept 7th - Smelly Magical Sunrise

Day Twenty Six September 7th:  Magical sunrise through the smelly lake air.  Somewhat humid but not too hot.  Last night a large swell of lake stench filled the valley. I was hoping it cleared out overnight but it lingered through the morning.  Luckily doesn't happen often.  Today should be the last day in the 90's.  Yesterday was 98 degrees... yuck!  Looking forward to the upcoming week of cooler temperatures. Today's run was quick and to the point.  339 more days to go! 

Day 25: Fri Sept 6th - My Bridge

Day Twenty Five September 6th:  Meet my bridge.  Okay, it may not be MY bridge, but I see it as so.  I cross this bridge nearly every morning.  It's my stopping place.  Jax and I slowly walk along the bridge. We gaze below at the empty riverbed and envision it lively and wild with water raging down from the mountains. 
We love this bridge.  It's iron bars and creaky wood slats.  It's a good drop down underfoot.  I say WE love looking down from this bridge.. but in reality Jax is looking for a place to whiz and mark his territory. So in a sense.. it's his bridge too.   Woof.

Day 24: Thurs Sept 5th - Old Stump

Day Twenty Four September 5th: Some days I wake feeling like this old stump. Weathered and tired. Today started of as one of those days.  So I challenge it.  I lace up my shoes and out the door I go - with my tired dog by my side. After a mile or so I am able to shake it off.   Each step helps to untangle the kinks in my legs and feet. That is when I notice.  The cooling air. The smells. My thoughts and stress trailing away. After my run I feel tired, but a different kind of tired.  A tired that says "I did this today and I feel good". Then I make my smoothie, shower and get ready for the rest of my day.
Of course... now I need coffee :)

Day 23: Wed Sept 4th - Baby Blue

Day Twenty Three September 4th:  So simple. So pretty.  Found in the middle of the largest part of the trail this morning. Trying to figure out how it got from the hillside to the trail unscathed.  Perhaps a fox caught it in her tail while she was running towards the river and in the breeze of her movement...it fell... right in this perfect little spot for me to find. :)

Day 22: Tues Sept 3rd - Bliss

Day Twenty Two September 3rd:

It was a bit cooler and a little less swampy today, which is a nice change from the humid mornings of late. Running was blissful this morning. It was one of those mornings I cursed having to work as I wanted to keep on running.  Which is funny because it was so hard to wake up this morning.  Just goes to show that some mornings when you are certain that "this mornings run is going to be hard because I am so tired and could sleep all day"... can turn into the opposite once you get out the door.  It was a beautiful and peaceful run.