8.75 Years!!!!

I think I've finally turned the corner! Really? What did I do? Did I finally grow up? Nooooo! The creepy sleepies seem to have abated. I rose today at 515am – early once again! The difference today was that I felt great! My eyes weren’t so heavy and my mind wasn’t so foggy. It’s funny how quickly we can forget how good it feels to wake feeling completely rested and ready to tackle anything! Because I was feeling well, I knocked out my sit-ups and push-ups with little effort. I was out the door with Ykraps, once gain, before 530am. The ground was wet, yet the sky was clear. At the time I had no idea of when it might have rained. I later learned that we had one heck of a thunderstorm roll through over night some time around midnight. But I slept right through it. The rain must have been heavy because the pond next to my yard was very high and muddy. I viewed the pre-dawn stars with wonderment and felt blessed to be able to appreciate such a view so comfortably this late in the year. It was 63 degrees! Once back in the house I went right for my coffee. It tasted so good! After meditation I sent a quick email and checked the weather forecast. It appeared the day would be a mixed bag of clouds and sun with temps at or near 70 degrees. However, for not so obvious reasons, this would not be a BM’er day. A look ahead called for a high of only 48 on Thursday, a far cry cooler than today! Better appreciate it while it’s here. I proceeded with my usual routine which left about 20 minutes of play time after readying myself for launch. With this time I took some sunrise pics and played guitar. Of course the extra time went fast. Before I knew it, it was time to leave. I was out of the house at 735am and on my way to work. My work day was busy and eventful. We are working extremely hard to meet our established goals despite increased activity levels. Because of my busy-ness, the morning flew by. In the back of my mind, all morning long, I was anticipating the bottom dropping out of my well rested and alert disposition. But by noon, i was stil lfeeling good. Before I knew it, it was time to run! And run I did. I had a very unusual experience happen while running. Before I share, however, I want to take a minute to recognize myself for achieving a minor milestone. Today marks 8 years and 9 months of running without missing a single day. That’s nearly 13,650 miles spread over 455 weeks, or 3185 days. Cool! OK! So, I am running, right? Things are going smoothly. I am at the 4.25 mile point in my 5 mile run. Suddenly a car turns off of Davidson road well in front of me and into the new Enchanted Care daycare facility parking lot. No big deal! But instead of moving on, the car stops just past my running path. The driver rolls down the window. It’s a woman who looks to be, oh, I don’t know, maybe 38 years of age. She begins speaking just as I am approaching her bumper. She tries to introduce herself and reaches out the window to shake my hand. Now, I rarely if ever stop when I am running. Over the past 8.75 years I can recall only stopping three times. Once, when I was pulled over by the cops for “J-running”, another time to help a Spanish speaking old woman find her way to Walmart, and lastly to push a stuck car out of the snow, but then I kept my feet moving pushing the damn car. Anyhow, I stood there for a brief second running in place thinking, what the... hell. Who stops their car just off a main road, stops a stranger (a runner), and introduces themselves, and then tries to shake their hand from their car window?? What motive might they have. All of this was going through my head in a matter of about two seconds. Suddenly red flags went up and I stared at her for a brief moment and said, “Gotta go!” I had an eery feeling that she was up to no good. Perhaps she was a rapist, a predator of some sort. Or, even worse, perhaps there was another individual in the car ready to pounce on me the instant I shook her hand. I do know this, nothing good could have come out of that encounter? I guess I’ll never know the true intent of the perpetrator. My afternoon was tough, and the day began to wear on me just a little. I felt as if I might be slipping back into the “creepy sleepies”. Although certainly not at Monday/Tuesday levels. It was Wednesday, and Wednesday evenings are generally a “Mindy night” at my house. Tonight was no exception. I called her as I was leaving work, which was late (about 530pm). It seems she was already sitting out front of my house waiting for me to get home. Hmmm? That meant that she would have to endure watching me go through my evening routine which includes prepping coffee, washing lunch containers, and walking Ykraps. That she did. She went with me while I walked Ykraps. I took the opportunity to snap a couple of pics too. Before I forget, the Wednesday evening sunset was one of the prettiest I have ever seen in Ohio. Ask anyone who saw it! It was definitely poster material. Ten minutes before sunset the sky was orange and pink with sun beams bursting through from behind some thin clouds. As it actually set, it turned the entire western horizon into a rainbow of purples, blues, and pinks – something I can’t ever recall seeing before. Sadly, I didn’t get a picture. I don’t take my camera everywhere! Once back from my Ykraps walk, I began making myself some dinner. Mindy wasn’t hungry as she had already eaten. I made something I like a lot and is low-carb friendly -Chicken broth with parsley and cheese. It was yummy and quick! Mindy mentioned that she was not feeling 100%. She reckoned that it just might be “that time of the month”, but I suspected she might be getting the creepy sleepies too. I gave her a back rub and then a foot massage. Now you don’t get one of those every day! At the same time, we had some interesting dialogue about our families and then I told Mindy the story of the hound dog that barks at me every time I run by his house and how the owner goes berserk and how I'd really like to shoot her! :) kidding:) She's just so damn goofy. She throws a fit. It looks like total chaos when I run by. You'd think after almost nine years the dog & the owner would get a clue! We next prepped ourselves for the hot tub. While Mindy was putting on her swim suit, I was adding chemicals. To my chagrin, the hot tub had gone int o economy mode, likely caused by the thunder storm the night before, and the temp had dipped to 88 degrees. That meant NO HOT TUBBING tonight. Bummer! It really sucks when you have your heart set on it, but then you can't. We talked some more then Mindy needed to head home. It was a bout 810pm. After she left I blogged for a few but made it a point to be in bed by 915pm. I really wanted (needed)another good night's sleep.