A Blurry June

June has been blurry because SO MUCH has been happening!  I realize it’s not quite over yet, but here’s a little snapshot of my busy June….

• I had a birthday
• We celebrated our wedding anniversary
• We got a great hike in
• We attended our niece’s engagement party
• We attended a graduation party
• We attended a neighborhood cookout/party
• We spectated at a friend’s 100 mile race (of course I haven’t been googling 100 mile races…that would just be silly)
• We celebrated 2 other birthdays
• We signed up for a couple more races (more to come)
• I've had a TON of work stuff happening (more to come)
• I got myself covered in poison ivy
• And of course, I ran.

As we head into July, it’s going to get C-R-A-Z-Y.  Crazy in a good way, of course.  Stay tuned!

Turning my frown upside down

My plan today was to dash out for a run as soon as my meeting ended at 11:00.  With another meeting at 1:00, I had plenty of time to change, run, shower, and even eat my lunch.  However, I procrastinated.  I wasn’t feeling it.  As the clock ticked to 11:10, and then 11:15, I texted Scott:

“I don’t feel like running L”

His reply:

“Maybe just go out and see how you feel”

That worked like a charm!  I conquered the crankiness, the dreariness of today, and the weight of too many to-do’s at work and got myself out for a run.

Within the first mile, I proceeded to pass a woman walking her dog.  I love dogs, but have a healthy respect for them.  So, I overly avoided the dog and ran on the grass.  Wait, did I say grass?  I meant swamp.  Yes, swamp most definitely articulates what I stepped into!  Before I knew it, I was ankle deep in a soggy grassy area and it seemed like it went on like that forever!

This is a re-creation; no real blades of grass were injured in the filming

The woman I passed must have realized what was happening and yelled after me, “I’m so sorry!”.  She sounded genuine and frankly, she didn’t make me overly avoid her dog, so how could I be annoyed?  I ended up laughing out loud at myself and the situation.  Shoes immediately soaked, I pressed on with a big fat smile on my face, laughing at myself and enjoying every minute of it.  For someone who had procrastinated getting out there, I sure did have myself a good time!

And a pretty damn good progression run too, if I say so myself:

I can recall times when I succumbed to the “don’t feel like running” feeling and regretted that decision almost immediately, but I can honestly say I’ve never regretted heading out for a run.  Today was no exception.

Anyone ever regret going for a run vs. not going for a run? 

 

A funny thing happened on our hike today…

…..we hit snow!  Now I realize 4000+ footers often have snow at their summits.  But this day that we hiked Mt. Moosilauke, it was June 1^st and 90 degrees!  But let me start at the beginning.

Scott had a great idea to grab a day hike up in the White Mountains.  Though we would have loved to tow our pop up camper and make a full weekend out of it, we had other plans already for Sunday.  So a day hike would have to do.  After an early wake up call, we headed North to our destination of Mount Moosilauke. We’ve hiked this mountain before, but it was a very different weather day and it was several years ago.  So for me, it felt like a brand new mountain to conquer.

We immediately hit rushing water, so Bella was diggin’ that…

Good thing she cooled off, because we had quite a bit of ascending to do….

We danced our usual dance whenever we hike; Scott practically runs up the mountain, while I practically run down the mountain.  Not sure if its long legs or center of gravity, but it all evens out in the end.  A little over 2 hours later and 4800 feet up, we were treated to the most spectacular panoramic view…

And a couple more, because I’m so afraid I’m not doing it justice…

And this is what it looked like from my Garmin’s point of view –

As we started our descent, lo and behold….SNOW!  On June 1^st with 90 degree temperatures at the bottom, we hit snow…..

We stopped for lunch, some chillin, and for Bella, more swimming in this little hideaway….

What a fantastic day!  Sun, fun, singing on the trails (not as much as usual….I was really working!), splashing, beautiful views….it was just perfect.  Did I mention NO wireless, NO internet and, other than using my phone for its camera, NO cell phone.  My head is clear, my face feels sun-kissed, my shoulders/back are just a touch sore from carrying my pack, and my legs feel like they climbed a 4800 footer.  And liked it.

By 7pm, we’re all struggling to stay awake.    These are the days that really remind me to break away and do something that I don’t HAVE to do but instead WANT to do. 

I hope you’re all doing fun stuff that you WANT to do this weekend!