Summer Life

After all the stress and work of bringing another school year to a close, then diving right into the Sawtooth logistics, and then a visit from my mom (blessing to have her here) I think I have finally settled into the summer life. It has been pretty mild summer weather out here in Idaho; with this week being the first of several hot ones, its nice to see that summer has finally showed up. That's not so say that everything has been bliss, but it certainly is great to be home with my wife and kids all day. It has been a bit difficult to squeeze in all the miles I was expecting to, but I think I've about found my rythym and just for backup I picked up a Bob Revolution Jogger to help make some miles go by with one of the little ones moving the ducks and squirrels out of the way on the Nampa greenbelt.

(First run with the Bob. About 7 miles on some hilly roads in South Nampa. Myles is hiding under the blanket and the giant stuffed elephant... excuse me, "Mr. Elephant")

Unfortunately, due to a shopping trip to buy a clearance "jumbo" size suitcase I had to skip today's planned workout, but got a good laugh. We grabbed a sweet deal on a Samsonite so we could save baggage fee's on our upcoming trip to Ohio. At the store I asked Myles if he wanted to jump in it. I think the sales associate was a bit disturbed by that, but he loved crawling inside it and I zipped him up, then let him pop out with a big "ta-dah!" It happens to be one that has four wheels and can move upright, so it was pretty funny to see him wheeling it through the store after we picked it out as well, lots of smiling and giggling from the other customers as he peeked over the top and pushed it up to the checkout counter. By the time we got home, Michelle needed to get rest for a big push of 3 in-a-row at work (She will be working at the hospital 36 of the next 72 hours, all night shifts so zzz's are a necessity). I hate missing workouts (which gave me a bit of the grumpies this afternoon), but at least its not motivation or injury holding me back, so I know the workout will come when I have time. It is great to have someone who love's her family enough to put herself through that kind of workload so we can take trips and keep the kids out of daycare as much as possible.

The cool thing about the suitcase is that it'll let me fit my Sportie's for a trail race in Ohio and my bike shoes for a long ride with the father-in-law. It'll be nice to have a longish stay there this time around. Beyond the next trail race, its hard to say what kind of races I show up at this fall, but I know you certainly won't see me at too many 5k's unless I'm pushing the Bob. I'm in the mood for a challenge, so we'll see. Maybe adding a zero to the 5 would be more fun... I may end up at a half-marathon in October, and perhaps will jump in the Harvest Classic 8k here in Nampa just for "fun" in September. I'm just soaking in the blessing of being able to run at the moment. But still... a 50k on October 22nd on my favorite Boise foothill trails is beckoning me to run. I have learned from my predictions of the Mohican Mtb 100 that I couldn't attend to keep long range goals drawn in the sand, but October isn't too far away, and a few longer runs here and there could get me ready for a great day on the trails in Boise. Who needs the marathon? I might just pull a Dean Karnazes this fall...