Sunday, July 27, 2008

Saguaro National Monument East 8 mile loop training run

Time to get serious. The annual Saguaro National Monument 8 mile race is coming up on Labor Day. I've run it 3 years in a row and have gotten faster each year (not sure if that will happen this year, though). I ran the loop today with Nancy and I'll also be doing it the next 3 Sundays to get ready. It was an overcast morning, and the clouds hung pretty low over the Rincon and Catalina Mountains, which was great! We still sweated like crazy from the high humidity that is typical this time of year. The desert is a beautiful green right now. We actually did 9 miles, because we added the 'picnic loop', which is an extra mile. This course is just a bunch of steep hills, the main one being a very slow grind to the top.
A big thank you to Nancy for listening to my tales of woe during our run. I am struggling with a complicated life right now; with my husband being gone for 4 months in Colorado (by the time I visit him in Silverton at the end of August, it will be over 2 and 1/2 months since he left Tucson and I saw him last), me working a lot of overtime, and too many other small things to take care of, I feel overtaxed, stressed, emotional and sad. When life gets out of balance for me, I feel it immediately. I'm hoping the work situation will slow down soon, and I'm confident that Kenny and I can work out the problems created by his career taking him to Colorado every year. Right now, though, I just have to tough it out and work on staying spiritually fit so I can handle life's complications. I must admit that I add to my problems because I have a difficult time asking for help. My dad taught me a lot about about self-sufficiency; sometimes, however, we just need other people.
Running is one thing I'm enjoying immensely right now. It clears my head and enables me to be present in my life. Even being so busy, I was able to fit in running 36 miles this week and I did 2 weight workouts (45 minutes to an hour each). I also took Cracker Dog for a 2 mile walk.

I stayed up too late last night and got up too early today to run, so I'm going to take a nap now. Sometimes a nap allows me to really put things in perspective. I often think that life is less about eliminating problems and more about a shift in attitude and perspective.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

You've got a great attitude! There's something about a good trail run that helps put life in perspective.

RunningTroysLife said...

sounds like a great running weekend.

Joyce Vyriotes said...

It was great meeting you at the TTR potluck and I look forward to seeing you at runs! I don't blog all that often, but you can check out mine at:
http://jblog.paul-v.com/

See you soon!