Home Again

After getting into town last night, I did as much as I could to clear out the weekend for a bit of relaxation. I just knew I wouldn't want to spend Saturday and Sunday unpacking, doing laundry, shopping and all that other stuff. It made for a very late night, but I knew I'd be glad I did it, and I am!

I went for a late run this morning, since I was completely unable to rouse myself before 8:00 and even that was pushing it. It had been awhile since I had run in the humidity, and my calves were hurting from under-hydrating when I worked out in El Paso. I'm used to having sweat stick to my body in the humid Gulf Coast air, so when my sweat evaporates, I don't know how to gauge my rate of fluid loss. I force myself to drink water in the desert, but I don't have the experience to tell me how much is enough. The result was tight, locked-up calves that still hurt. Until I get warmed up, I walk sort of like Frankenstein.

Anyway, I wasn't going to let that stop me. I planned on a short, six mile run followed by some elliptical, but changed my mind and made it about 11 or 12 miles. It wasn't that I was feeling all that good, just that I wasn't feeling terrible. I slogged along, my skin loving the damp air, but the rest of me hating it. But things got better when some clouds moved in and I got caught in a pretty good shower about 3 miles from home. I don't really like running in the rain, but when the day is hot and the rain is cool, it can be refreshing if it doesn't last too long. And that far from home, what was I going to do anyway? I was already wet. So I trotted along home in the clearing rain, figuring at least I'd get home smelling better. There's a bright side to just about everything.

We went and had Indian food for lunch, driving out in the pouring rain. We hadn't had Indian food in two weeks and we certainly weren't going to let a little water stop us! And the rain made for nice afternoon nap weather.

I've been playing catch-up this evening, trying to figure out the news, friends' blogs and that sort of thing. I hope to settle in and get some writing done tonight, too. I did a little while I was gone, but certainly nothing like my page-a-day minimum when I'm here at home. I had a lot of good thoughts and observations that will be useful for my stories though, and that made it worth it. And it's a good idea to take your brain off the hook now and then and just enjoy the world.

Today's Workout
Long run - about 11 or 12 miles