Weird Weekend

I had almost thought I had kicked my stomach/overall mullygrubble on Friday, but that evening started feeling it in my lower GI.  No!!!  I didn't get to sleep till after 2 with all the bathroom trips.  Then Spot got me up at 5:30 :(

Rick got up to head to Brad with me for the 10 miles on my schedule.  Mindy and I had both not gotten in the miles planned for the week and thought we'd do a little extra, running at least 2 hours.  Well, in the conditions the day had to offer, with my extra stops in the woods, 2 hours just barely got us our 10 miles.  I'm not sure we'd have wanted to be out there any longer; the cold rain was getting harder as we ran.  Mindy was dealing with the start of some type of head cold.  We counted ourselves lucky that it was a back-down week; we didn't have 20+ miles on the schedule.   I wouldn't call it a bad run, but it was less fun than it might have been.  Even at E&L's we had trouble warming up.  I had no appetite (very sad to be at E&L's and not want to eat) so just had tea.  It was nice to catch up with Ian and Emma, who came in from marking the Blizzard course.

Rick and I had to hurry home to get back on the road.  We were dropping Ryan off in Providence then picking up Sam, who'd just finished up on finals, in Worcester.  Poor Rick, Ryan and I were almost no company at all.  We both slept a majority of the ride to Providence.  Heading to Worcester, I wasn't much better company.  I still had that background headache and nodded off now and then.   After we picked up Sam, it was time to think about food.  Unfortunately, every place we stopped was packed.  We didn't eat until we reached Portland.  I ate, but still didn't feel great.  Upon arriving home, I was asleep within a half an hour.  I would have slept until the alarm, but Spot asserted that she should heat the regular time.

I felt like I was in a fog.  Still, the stomach issue didn't seem too bad.  I really needed to get out for my run, but couldn't get moving.  By the time I made myself get out there, I had no chance of fitting in all eight miles.  I would just go by time.

The day was a dreary as I felt.  At least a snowmobile or two had been out since the big storm.  The trail would be runnable.  I noticed the trees and bushes were all lined with a frosting of ice.  If there sun came out, it would be beautiful.  Instead, the frosting seemed more liked the sheets pulled over furniture in a closed up old house...no, like the dust over all the furniture...whatever, it looked sad.

Soon, the chewed up ice chunks made by the snowmobile's track started aggravating various aches and pains in my foot, ankle, and knee.  That was the start of the running dialogue (teehee, punny :) between my head and my body.  My mind try to chew out my body for complaining.  Suck it up.  Listen to what George always says, "What are you gonna do?  You just deal with it."  My knee was not having it.  Just then I post-holed deeply into some water right where I'm always telling people to watch out for the dips; there's water under them.  I had to reach way out with the non-posted leg to catch myself.  The achilles twinged.  Hey head, what are you doing???  You're supposed to be paying attention so this doesn't happen and you want to give a lecture about not complaining???  It was also around here that my body realized that my mind was actually putting the words in its mouth.  That, it was my mind that had to take George's advice.  The body was going to send whatever messages the nerves conducted.  The mind would have to just deal. Yes, I realize all this doesn't really make sense, but it was happening.  It was also right around here that I really started enjoying my run.

The trail would have stretches of good running, but also more stretches of ankle-busting ice chunks.  The place where I've told Xar and Mindy, "Careful, there's always a river under here," but there had been nothing and there was nothing to even hesitate about, had a river flowing under it.  There was a thin layer of ice covering the middle, but it looked, um, unsupportive.  I decided it would be best to just break through and plant my foot on the bottom.  I think it was a good call.  It wasn't all that deep, I didn't fall, and my feet were going to be soaked no matter what.

The half way time turned out to be almost  exactly 3.5 miles in.  Nice.  I could live with seven for the day.  On the way back, the conversation in my head would best be shared on a run of over, oh, I don't know, hours and hours or maybe a run after 9pm.  It all seemed so profound and spiritual.  Better talk than with the body.  Then the world got me out of my head.  A beautiful, huge red-tailed hawk took wing from the top of a short tree.  I felt it push off.  It made a low circle over the field.  Not long after, I noticed some mouse art that was punctuated with what I assumed was a coyote pounce.

I tried to pretend the scenery was brighter, but the sun hadn't come out as promised.  It still looked dreary, but it no longer affected my mood.  Crossing the road, heading down to the snowmobile bridge (the one ....Oh, oh, oh!!!  I forgot all about the bridges.  With each one I crossed, I thought about Unstrung's description of them as electron bridges.  Yup, I certainly felt like there was a probability that they would not be solid where I stepped.  Of course, Rick said something like, if I knew for certain it was there, I couldn't know how fast it was going....no, no, not the uncertainty principle, the oritols with the electrons just being where they are likely to be...the bridges were dicey. Yeah, it was a weird day out there.  So, any way, the bridge that was right before the turn around on the power lines in the fat ass), I notice an animal slipping down the bank, going under the bridge.  Was it a mink?  I thought they were white this time of year.  Maybe a fisher???   I was gonna cross that bridge.  "Hey!  You're afraid of me!" I shouted, loudly.  I thought of the troll beneath the bridge.  As I ran across, I notice where the critter had gone into a hole in the bank.  Phew!  Then I laughed at me for being scared.  Silly.  It was a mink after all.  I think that it's certain weasels that turn white in winter.

I finished with almost exactly 7 miles and without a headache.  Running is good.  I also finished with just enough time to get ready to head to the Bradbury Blizzard.