six days since my last confession

(photo by trent campbell)

finally got out there, after six days -- snows and holiday madness blocking the paths since last friday. Amazing how the mood is affected without the run: stress rises, sleep suffers, mind gets cluttered. When I lived in Vermont and ran back-country roads before the sun came up, I sometimes described the experience as "running through church." For running unfolds as much in the mind as underfoot, and the cleansing sensation can be acute. And on this particular morning, after an absence of almost a week, the characterization seems especially apt. I'm in West Springfield, Mass., at the moment, and ran this route.

8.61 miles.
1 hr 15 mins., 52 secs=8.77 min. miles, or 8 minute 43 seconds
x 26.2 miles =229.805 mins.=3.83 hrs. marathon (for anti-jinx and sanity purposes, I've vowed to stop race-extrapolating, at least out loud).

While I was out there, a couple other lines went through my mind. My stepdaughter Shea gave me a marathon scrapbook for Christmas, and included a handful of running quotes. Here are two I especially like: "Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow." Henry David Thoreau. And, "If one could run without getting tired, I don't think we would often want to do anything else." C.S. Lewis.

today's pre-run eats: 2 cups of coffee, 4 oz of water, one banana, two clementines, two Advils, packet of honey energy gummies (10 pieces).
No music.
42 F. Gusty winds, mix of sun and clouds. All asphalt.

Please consider sponsoring my boston marathon effort. click here for more info. thanks!