Still Running

Sunday I ran 5K worth of the hills in my home town, with a stop in an open house I passed along the way. Inside the realtor, who spoke Swedish, French, German and Arabic according to her business card (she spoke English to me although it wasn't listed), offered me carbonated lemonade, which was refreshing. This house, selling for $990,000, was on my hill! The best hill in the DC area. I want this house!

Monday I ran from my agency's building in DC at noon to the Iwo Jima statue in Arlington and back, to honor my Dad's birthday of two days earlier. He was a Marine. I stopped at the statue to view the carvings in the base of the two battles he was in, Peleliu and Okinawa, which bookended the battle everyone knows, Iwo Jima. That was a 7.5 mile run.

Wednesday I took my agency's noontime group out on a run to Lincoln, Korea, WWI, MLK, Garfield, the Capitol, Cap Hill, Stanton Square and Union Square. Translated that means a run down the Mall of 6.5 miles.

Thursday morning I got up early and ran my neighborhood mile in the dark before packing to travel to Colorado on business and pleasure for a week. I thought I was working the mile pretty well but it came in at a slow 8:16. Then it was off to make my 7:45 am flight to Denver.

Which brings me to this morning at the Denver Tech Marriott. It's been snowing like crazy out here. At the airport I let the car rental folks talk me into paying $150 extra for a Toyota Rav4 all-wheel 6-cylinder for my eight days trip through the high country and to Santa Fe to see family. Now it better snow more to make the expenditure worthwhile. No, wait, I don't actually mean that.

I have just finished a month of posting every single day. 38 days straight, actually. I shoulda begun every entry, Dear Diary. I tried to be varied and interesting, but there is no more effective way to drive away any readership you might have away than to fill up your blog detailing the mundane. But with the passage of January that little daily challenge/grind is over and I'll go back to adhering to a truism I fervently believe in, Less is more.

Last night I saw my sister in Denver and wished her a happy birthday, which is this week. This morning it's off to a RBF meet-up with my friend Cew Two for a run in Washington Park. The temperature is a crisp 31 degrees. But that's a dry cold. I can't wait.

Then it's off to Parachute to see my Aunt before spending the night in Montrose. Tomorrow I'll go see the Black Canyon of the Gunnison and then travel to Pagosa Springs to see my Uncle and his daughter, my cousin. After that, I'll go down to see my sister in Santa Fe to wish her a happy birthday, which is next week. Then it's back to Denver for one more run in the area with an old friend in my old hometown of Louisville before returning to the real world. At least that's the plan.