Day 91: Mon Nov 11th - Happy Birthday Jax!

4 years old.

A present, a new toy!

Day Ninety-one: Happy Birthday to Jax - the best running partner!

Fantastic run this morning. Despite a night of a bit (too much) beer, tailgating, and hanging out in the Real soccer supporters section - Real SL vs. Portland. 

Woke up this morning anticipating a 'tired' run, but after about 5 minutes  we were sailing.   Afterwards went to breakfast, a bit of needed shopping and a couple pints.
Got to love a day off!

Day 90: Sun Nov 10th - Rosebud and Thorns

Day Ninety:  

The Rosebud Who Could 

or rather

Every Rose has it's Thorn......except this one.

Rose blooming in near mid-Novmeber, despite icy mornings.

Day ninety... 3 months, flew by, or rather ran by.  LOL

Day 89: Sat Nov 9th - When life throws you a ball... play with it!

Day Eighty-nine:  "When life throws you a ball... play with it!"

Words from Jax himself ;)    Found a ball running today.  I should say Jax actually found the light blue ball, covered in a pile of leaves on the side of the road.  We spotted it, he nosed it, then I gave him the 'okay' to pick it up.  He swooped down and grabbed it in his mouth with playful excitement and went back to running, tail wagging high with pride. I love that dogs remind us to live and love the simple things, because really it is the simple things and moments in life that bring us the most joy. 

Day 88: Fri Nov 8th - Spooky Night Run

Day Eighty-eight:  Running at night is a big headache.

Okay, not really. I actually enjoy it. However, yesterday I waited till after work to run as I was battling a headache all day, and it gets dark early.  So grabbed the fam and went to the trail and did a light run in the dark with flashlights. It spooked the girls a bit but it was fun to include them in experiencing the changes nightfall brings to familiar places.

Day 87: Thurs Nov 7th - River Runs Wild

Day Eighty-seven:  River runs wild....again...for a moment.

The river has been silent and empty lately. My run was sore today. Yesterday was a very active day on my feet with no breaks - and of course running before the busy day didn't help.
So today my feet protested a bit. I ran slow, took it easy. One headphone in for motivation and beat, the other ear listening to anything and everything, one foot at a time. 
Coming around the bend the silence in my right ear was suddenly filled with a rushing noise that I couldn't place. I stopped. Jax circled around himself, curious as well. Taking out my left ear bud I listened as the white noise became louder. For a moment I was confused and couldn't place it. I looked toward the sky ( my first panic thought was a plane was on it's way, falling from the sky and ready to smash me into the trail... I have a bit of a plane phobia.  And yes I am being a little on the dramatic side, as it was loud... but not imminent-demise-plane-falling-from-the-sky loud). 
Seeing nothing, we ran over to the bridge and became witness to the river unleashing. It was as if someone had been holding the water hostage (the dam is miles away by the mountain base) and then with a countdown of 1...2....3...  it roared to life (a sound I miss).  I could see the winding front in the distance, the water snaking it's way quickly across the rocks and boulders heading West. Carrying with it was mounds of debris that tumbled and rolled along. Going across to the other side of the bridge, the river behind was full of water topping it's banks, racing super fast and pushing over the mini fall underneath our feet with a loud  ....well, ya know... the loud river roaring under a bridge sound.                                    Needless to say, it's power was pretty cool. 

 



Day 86: Wed Nov 6th - Positive Bull%@#

Day Eighty-six:  Positive Bull!@#

Great run this morning... as for the rest of the day   ----->

Day 85: Tues Nov 5th - Snowy Cold

Day Eighty-five: Snowy cold and new phone app.

 

It is definitely November. Snowy and cold this morning. Though the sidewalks were quite slippery, the road had good traction. The trail was nice as the snow lightly covered over the usual rocky terrain and added a softness to each footfall.  Jax loved it.  I had to keep reminding him to slow down. I think he wanted to sprint off and play in the snowy goodness of the new season.

 

I downloaded a new phone photo app I wanted to try out... hence the new fun type picture.

I think it came out quite nicely.

 

Day 84: Mon Nov 4th - Where Art and Nature Collide

Day Eighty-four:  

Where art and nature collide. 

Today I decided to venture off the trail l I've been on a bazillion times and head towards the large rocks at the rivers edge, wanting to extend my run and shake up the routine a bit. Coming down a steep short incline I ran right into a scenic hideaway I didn't even know existed.  

The holy Mecca of graffiti painted boulders!  

Normally I would cringe at such markups on natures perfect surface, but today I decided to look deeper. Spent several minutes walking around the massive rocks, reading and marveling the expressions and talent. The art here tells a story, or rather stories. I saw anger, defiance, rebellion... but also saw love, awesomeness and beauty. 

I should have brought a Sharpie :)

 

Day 83: Sun Nov 3rd - Fall Back in the Fall

Pure Happiness

Day Eighty-three: Fall back in the fall. 

Extra hour in the fall is nice. 
Slept in a bit then went running as a family at the large dog park / river trail. 
Jax and Izzy loved playing in the first snow fall of the season. It was beautiful.  Even in snow boots (which she insisted on wearing), Izzy kept up a good pace.

 

Day 82: Sat Nov 2nd - Bark Hill

Day Eighty-two: Thorns of life... and a bark hill.



I think this is a good look for him..... 

I've decided.... Life is not supposed to make sense.Things that I think I know, change. Things I thought I knew... I was wrong. So I have decided to stop struggling against the tide of life and just go with the flow. Life is good and we are blessed. We just have to look for the beautiful moments. They are everywhere.  
Finding faults in life is easy.  Doing something about them can be a challenge. But the true struggle I see in myself  is finding the beauty of life on a consistent basis. I have to remind myself that I can 'choose' happiness.  I can 'see' beauty and love the experience.
I think it was Wayne Dyer who quoted in one of his books.... 

"What we focus on expands."   
 
Which, when you think about it, makes complete sense.

Today on my run I started off grumbling about this and that. Complaining in my head about things in life that are unfair.  Seeing the lack.  After a mile of negative self talk, Jax and I came upon this hill of bark. Right in the middle of nothing really. I stared annoyed at first (not sure why), however Jax thought it was super exciting! He spotted the hill quickly from a distance (being that it was completely out of the ordinary on our ordinary running path) and bounded up the hill (pulling me along until I let go). He began pouncing in the bark, digging, jumping around and appeared completely content with where he was in that exact moment.
You could feel his joy.  He simply saw a hill, lived in the moment and was happy.

Okay, now after writing the above, I know what I really want. 

 

I want to be a dog.   

 

Woof.