Plans and Plants

I finally received the weekend of my dreams!  Okay, so that is a little dramatic for what it actually was, but after a nasty, cold and wet week, I awoke Saturday morning to clear blue skies, bright sunshine, and soft breezes.  It was heavenly.  My plan was to run 10 miles Saturday to reach an even 50 for the week, but I made the mistake of starting the yard work before the run and...after 5 hours of digging and hoeing and pulling and dragging...this body was done.

What started as a plan to re-pot a few plants and weed some front beds became much more when Jason came out to cut back the crape myrtles (a little late, I know).  That turned into digging up some dead bushes, which turned into digging up other bushes to preparing the soil for what I want to plant next.  When we finally finished, I sat on the couch for a few minutes and tried to talk myself into running.  My body said no, so I eventually gave it up and took a shower.  I felt sort of like I'd wasted a perfect opportunity to run, but I'd been outside enjoying the day and I was supposed to be tapering anyway.

Sunday was another gorgeous day, so after church we grabbed sandwiches from Brueggers and sat on our back porch to eat them.  I re-potted a few more things, watered everyone and played with Chance before tackling some inside chores.  Julie wanted to go for a walk, so I ran the 3 miles to her house, walked 2 miles with her and then ran home.  It was HOT, but I enjoyed the challenge of trying to acclimate.  I was able to hold an 8:19 pace for the first 3, dropping to an 8:28 for the second.  I had the heat to contend with, along with an incredibly sore back and sore hamstrings from all the yard work, but I had a good time all the same.  I really like destination running.

So the yard is looking better. I got my hands in the dirt where they longed to be.  My plants are happily stretching their roots as I try to stretch out my rarely used muscles (who knew hands could be so sore!).  I've soaked up enough rays to feel better (sort of) about the time I will now spend at my desk...as the storms return for another week of crazy spring weather.  I ran with the girls this morning, so let the rains come!

And then the Andrew Jackson Marathon this Saturday...  But more on that later.  Happy Monday!