Last Call
It's dark now. Finally, that time of year has rolled around when I can leave the blinds open at night and still sleep restfully without UV rays pouring into our loft after bedtime. The once purple blossoms of fireweed in our yard have turned to cotton-like seedless pods, their wispy sprouts evaporating into the cool breeze. The garden, ripe with bulging zucchini, carrots, and beets, struggles to shrug off the near freezing sunrise while a thick coat of dew on car windows threatens to freeze into a stubborn layer of ice before receiving full exposure from the morning warmth.
The 10 a.m. valley air was pungent with season change. I hopped around and got my legs loose preparing for todays' 10 mile run. This year, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to captain the Army 10 Miler team which meant I've had the flexibility to organize runs that happened to be the same day I had a run on my schedule. For todays' trot, I planned a route that would take us along a dirt path toward Goldstream Sports, catch the Equinox route, and loop back around through some single track and a few back roads. Knowing I was one of the slower runners to show up this morning, I tried to stress that today's run would be easy, every other mile take it slow, don't exceed zone two, keep it conversational. Our friend from Kenya on the team assured us that he was tired from hill repeats the day before and would be sandbagging today. I think we all knew better.
A few miles in, we wound up on the trailhead at the bottom of Ester Dome. I was out here on my mountain bike the day before and knew I had to come back right away. The leaves had all turned to yellow and many of them had fallen on the trail. It was dry, cool, crunchy, just perfect.
Turning back down Ester Dome Road, we were all together commenting on how nice the trails were and telling stories of races near and far. After another three miles along the Equinox course, ran in reverse, we cruised back down Miller Hill and called it a day, the pre-noon sun now spilling through only the highest branches.
Everything was awake. My legs were bristling with fatigued strength and needed food. I got back home and harvested some of my vegetables and set about making fresh zucchini bread as a recovery snack. With a hot pot of French roast and a front porch now bathed in golden rays, I couldn't help but kick back and enjoy a moment I knew would be hard to come by again for a long while. Before the weekend was over, I'd have another 120 miles to ride and many hours of sunlight to drink in. Knowing these would likely be the last two days of the year it would get above 70, I was rather looking forward to spending most of my energy in the saddle on the open road. For the moment, it could wait. Another warm slice and full mug, I reckon.
The 10 a.m. valley air was pungent with season change. I hopped around and got my legs loose preparing for todays' 10 mile run. This year, I was very fortunate to have the opportunity to captain the Army 10 Miler team which meant I've had the flexibility to organize runs that happened to be the same day I had a run on my schedule. For todays' trot, I planned a route that would take us along a dirt path toward Goldstream Sports, catch the Equinox route, and loop back around through some single track and a few back roads. Knowing I was one of the slower runners to show up this morning, I tried to stress that today's run would be easy, every other mile take it slow, don't exceed zone two, keep it conversational. Our friend from Kenya on the team assured us that he was tired from hill repeats the day before and would be sandbagging today. I think we all knew better.
A few miles in, we wound up on the trailhead at the bottom of Ester Dome. I was out here on my mountain bike the day before and knew I had to come back right away. The leaves had all turned to yellow and many of them had fallen on the trail. It was dry, cool, crunchy, just perfect.
Turning back down Ester Dome Road, we were all together commenting on how nice the trails were and telling stories of races near and far. After another three miles along the Equinox course, ran in reverse, we cruised back down Miller Hill and called it a day, the pre-noon sun now spilling through only the highest branches.
Everything was awake. My legs were bristling with fatigued strength and needed food. I got back home and harvested some of my vegetables and set about making fresh zucchini bread as a recovery snack. With a hot pot of French roast and a front porch now bathed in golden rays, I couldn't help but kick back and enjoy a moment I knew would be hard to come by again for a long while. Before the weekend was over, I'd have another 120 miles to ride and many hours of sunlight to drink in. Knowing these would likely be the last two days of the year it would get above 70, I was rather looking forward to spending most of my energy in the saddle on the open road. For the moment, it could wait. Another warm slice and full mug, I reckon.
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