Remember to Look Up…

The cool air greeted me as I left my house on the hill before the world was truly awake. The air clear and crisp. I couldn’t wait to get out the door. I have been slogging through the thick heavy summer air even in the early a.m. July has been challenging in most ways imaginable…

The exquisite quiet washed over me as I walked down the drive. Gravel crunched under my Hoka running shoes. I noticed the swirl of pathways that had formed from the runoff of the heavy rains from the past many weeks. Leaving their mark. Leaving a mark. My mind raced to a recent conversation with my writing group about labels. One of the members went around our small group labeling each one of us. Telling me I was a Painter. While true it is not all that I am or my only definition. I spent a brief few moments bucking up against the idea of being labeled. Why do we do it I muttered with a shake of my head…

I set my watch as I reached the end of the drive looking right before I headed left.  Just beyond the quarter mile mark a deer crossed the road closely followed by her two fawns. A Vermont Chamber of Commerce summer morning. The first few steps familiar.  Tap, tap, tap as I settled in. Cadence quickened while I kept my stride short and efficient.  Leaning forward from my ankles I was off…

My head heavy with oppressive thoughts. The news insidiously creeps into nearly every waking moment. Every day. I reminded myself to look up. Take in the exquisite landscape. Lush ferns, wildflowers in shades of lavender, yellow and white lined the banks of the street. The hills bursting in shades of green. A cobalt blue sky appeared overhead while the last vestiges of dissipating mist clung to the hilltops…

Summer humidity sets you up well for great Fall running Jon Sinclair used to tell me as I complained about the summer weather when he was coaching me. I continued down the street passing a couple of signs for the Vermont 100 Endurance Race. The ultramarathon was just last weekend, and the route passed through the woods behind my house. My pace quickened at the mere thought of a race even though those days are now behind me…

My mind returned to the thought of labels. Runner, I mused. A very mortal runner but a runner non the less. Yes, I have loved to run from as far back as I can remember and hopefully will be able to do so for some time more. Despite age, slowing of pace and yes, maybe my feet don’t move quite as quickly as they once did but a runner, I am…

“Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy, sunshine in my eyes can make me cry.
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely, sunshine almost always makes me high.
If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you the day just like today.
If I had a song that I could sing for you, I’d sing a song to make you feel this way.”–John Denver / Sunshine On My Shoulders