weekends are for running

mileage thursday: 4.3

mileage saturday: 3.1 (5K)

mileage sunday: 2.9

on the iPod: "mountains win again" -- blues traveler

Downtown Fayetteville is such a great place. Love it, wish I could afford to live there. I parked at Susan's for a late-afternoon run, heading toward Dickson Street via Wilson Park and the edge of the University. The flower beds around the Castle are outstanding right now. Kudos to the city for keeping such attention to detail in making Fayetteville beautiful. Go check it out.

Made it to the square fairly easily, but stopped at The Shag to say hello to Ruthie. She says she'll call me for drinks but i'm not holding my breath. One time Ruthie and I were in the back of a limo and I set my cell phone down in a Stoli vodka tonic. Didn't realize it until I went to take a drink. Holy Moses it was a great night. I'll never forget it. She's the best.

Also stopped in St. Paul's and sat for about a minute in the nave. It's such an amazingly serene and peaceful space. Sometimes, when i'm there alone, I can't help from crying. I'm so happy to be part of such a great parish. On my way out I lit a candle and gave thanks. Always light it for the same person, I hope she knows how proud I am of her and how much I love her.

On Saturday Mrs. Murie and I did Run For The Grapes 5K, part of the Tontitown Grape Festival. Saw tons of running regulars, including Deanna. She was smiling the whole time. Love her energy. And Kyle Smith, a fellow BHS teacher, was there. I think it might have been his first race? Happy to see him running. Also got to visit with an old college friend, Chris Lyle. He's run multiple marathons. His family were there as well. They've moved to Bentonville and hopefully he and I can get some training runs done together in September. I was pleased with my time, somewhere under 28 minutes, even though Mrs. Murie, per usual, smoked me by a couple of minutes. She's the bomb dot com.

Today I went out in the neighborhood where I'm housesitting. Always fun to run different neighborhoods. It was hot as hell so I didn't go far, but did run past my parents house and the homes of some friends. Being an established neighborhood, there were lots of big trees to provide shade in the street, so I took advantage of those spots. The best part? The pool in the backyard. Score one for an instant cooldown! And there was cold beer in the fridge. Even better.