25 April 2006

the runner in me...

i've not said much lately about the training - or, rather, the running as the case is. not because i haven't been pleased with my runs. and not because i haven't enjoyed my runs. i just can't talk about running all that much...

for a guy who had run all maybe 50 miles in the eleven years since i got out of college, it's been a good several months for me. i'll hit 40+ miles in april alone - and while i know that's not a lot for many runners out there, it's a big number for a person who never has cared for running. i've discovered that i can consistently run 8 minute miles outside (without the benefit of a treadmill to pace me), that i seem to have contained the knee problems - at least for the time being, and that i can run miles without getting horribly winded...

and the best part - once a week, i have a running partner. i'm a work-out-alone type of guy, typically. but i look forward to my weekly runs with greenfish. someone to talk to. someone to push and to push me. someone to share the happiness of finishing a run...

i'm getting used to this running thing. and it's getting used to me. now, if only i could coax myself back into the pool...

16 April 2006

easter action...

easte_fe
today was my first official easter as head-bunny. ian woke up at 6:30 - later than i figured he would - and the first thing he said to me when i walked in his room was "easter bunny" with a big tooth-filled grin his face. we walked downstairs, where he discovered his easter basket complete with frog sunglasses, and then it was off to the easter egg hunt in the front yard...

it's a beautiful day here and, while i wish we could be with the rest of my family at my parents' house, we're having a great day...

11 April 2006

the welcome signs of spring...

the rumors had been circling. a neighbor down the block first told me last weekend. and then k - of all people - told me yesterday that the neighbor across the courtyard had told her. and last night, in the twilight of a beautiful colorado spring evening, the rumors became real...

the neighbors are selling their house. that is - the neighbors are selling their house...

the neighbors are the family of four whose front door sits not more than 50 feet from mine. nice woman, a couple cute kids - including a little girl i figured would end up being ian's girlfriend one day. what i didn't figure was that her dad would be my wife's "boyfriend" for some time...

from the day i found out about the affair, the neighbor has been there like an ogre lurking in the shadows (actually, i think i've described him before as the elephant in the corner). during the colder winter months, it's pretty bearable - since folks in the neighborhood are rarely outside. but during the warm months and long days, the reminder of a life i once lived and lost spends a lot of time outside in what is effectively my front yard. and while i'm past the bulk of the pain associated with all that went down, the discomfort of having the proverbial thorn in my paw always within whispering distance has been unpleasant to say the least...

and then, yesterday, the sign went up. and in that instant the spring sun felt warmer, the colorado sky blu-er, the budding trees budding-ier...
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of course, the good news simply serves to offset the other news i got last week. because while one goes away another comes back...

k is moving back to the neighborhood. and that - combined with her parents also moving in - is likely fodder for many a post here. but none of that happens until summer. so for now, i'm going to enjoy the spring...

04 April 2006

a glimmer through the dark...

that chris-is-busy post from a couple weeks ago? yeah - i had no idea back then what busy meant. good news is that light at the end of the tunnel is only two weeks away. bad news is that i've got about 2 months worth of work to do in that time. ouch...

on another note, the knee continues to bother me. it gave out on me 3.2 miles into a 4.5 mile run on sunday... barely made it home walking. i hope it gets better, because there's nothing more frustrating during a run than not being able to finish when your lungs feel fine...