Where has the summer gone? I feel like the game never changes, and yet I seem to find myself in the same situation every year! The summer presents itself in all its opportunistic glory, filled with a multitude of time for all the desired projects, and then it’s gone in a blink of an eye 🙂 That’s certainly how I would describe the last month, which has flown by at hyper speed.
At any rate, the running has continued, the streak remains in play, and the rain and humidity has controlled my life far more than I would have preferred. Not only has it meant some very damp and hot runs, but it has also meant a quick 3-day landscaping project has taken several weeks to complete! We finally bit the bullet and decided to dig up the asphalt in our backyard (who paves their backyard!?!?!?!?!). The end result will be a much more beautiful and usable space, but first it has to stop raining for more than a day so we can actually finish spreading the top soil and plant the grass seed. I’m pretty sure it was bone dry for two month, and then has rained every other day since we began this project…ugh!
It looks so innocent, right?
Luckily, we made our yearly trip to Minnesota to visit family and do some exploring. It’s always fun to get back home and visit old and new haunts. We were able to spend a lot of time with my sister and nephew as well, which was a blast! I managed to squeeze in quite a bit of running, and explored some areas I had never seen before, despite growing up there. Everything just looks different when you are a runner!
Chasing42 Log: 20170710- 20170812
Run: The miles have been hot and humid for the past month but they’ve also been consistent. I’ve been really happy with the track and tempo workouts I’ve incorporated during the week, and the solid trail miles on the weekend. I’ve been keeping my weekly mileage fairly consistent around 70, and trying to incorporate as much vertical gain as I can along the way. I managed a comfortable 26 miles this morning and feel like I’m about as acclimated as I’m going to be at this point. Soon enough, classes will begin again, and my running schedule will change.
The #chasing42streak continues and now sits at 631 days.
#traillove
Thought: The history of lawn/turf management and landscaping in this country is fascinating to me. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately as our project’s extended timeline has given me plenty of time to stare at the piles of dirt in our backyard. Why do we spend so much time on our yards/lawns? We waste untold millions of gallons of water to feed grass, we spend millions of dollars on mulch, dirt, and plants, and we invest hours upon hours working to keep things up. We compete with neighbors, we pay homeowners associations, we adhere to landscaping policies, and it’s all to live a lie. Just think for a moment how much more time and money you would have if you weren’t tossing it into the ground so you don’t get judged negatively by others. What other interests or hobbies would you pursue? How much more running would you do? How much more time would you spend with your partner or significant other?
How much more time would you spend #chasing42?
Ok, time to head outside and mow the lawn. Again. Why won’t it stop growing? Zero-scaping sounds better and better by the day!
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