To the Moon

It was nice to have a clear morning sky with a slice of moon to gaze at this morning. My thoughts haven’t seem to wander that much during the last couple of weeks of running and it was sweet relief to hear the gears of mind start to turn rather than listen to the shuffle of my feet. Looking up at my running partner I begin to think about the moon phases and which one I was possibly witnessing and realized I truly don’t know that much about the moon and its phases. Everyone knows the full moon and the half and I knew that they were broken down to quarter moons and little slivers called waxing crescents (don’t ask me how I knew that because it blew my mind when I said it). I thought about the Sun shining on our little friend and the rays racing past it heading out to the vastness of space. I thought about being that particle of light and traveling for infinity across the universe. They say that the universe is slightly curved and that if you travel fast enough you could catch yourself. I wondered if I ran that fast and came up behind myself what would I say? Probably man my ass is big.

NoMoSloMo Playlist

A new updated playlist to welcome Spring and hopefully get me back under a 6'45 pace.

The patter of little feet

A funny thing happen to me this morning. As I ran thinking about what a wonderful feeling it is to have the freshly fallen rain kick up on my bare legs a little creature scurried past me. I am not going to fib to you and say that I wasn’t startled because seeing anything at four in the morning is a big surprise. It took a second to register who this little critter was as it ran waving its tail. It took another second for the smell to hit me. The skunk made its way into the darkness of farm ditch and I continued down the road trying to get some distance between me and the foul stench. I had to smile when I was far enough away and knew I wasn't going to carry that funk with me all the way home. It would have been long and nauseating three miles home if I had been the unfortunate victim of Mr. Skunk. So here’s a playlist for you Mr. Skunk and all the little and sometimes larger animals that cross my pass.

Motivation

It is funny where our thoughts take us. One morning I am thinking about what makes me smile and as I open the door a 20 mph wind kisses me good morning and I am reminded how much I hate the wind. Hate is a strong word and I really have a hard time saying it, (writing it is even harder). Even as I ran I thought if I just dislike wind, went through the positives vs. negatives and came to the conclusion that yes I hate the wind. The wind destroys my motivation to run. As I walk out of my subdivision toward the long and open country road that I use as my own personal treadmill a battle breaks out between my motivation to run against the dissatisfaction of spending the next thirty minutes of fighting the wind. I have weapons to help aid my motivation and I guess that is what I am asking you? What fuels your motivation? This morning the fact that I have a new pair of running shoes out numbers any amount of negativity I feel for my foe the wind. I also set rules for my running and the purchasing of new music from iTunes (which is an addiction). I have to break PR’s to buy new music so that motivates me to run further and faster. Marking a race on the calendar motivates me and speaking of that Mr.JK there is the Race to Wrigley fast approaching and was wondering if you want to duel it out. The twins motivate me to run for if not for them I would not have started running in the first place. When I think of the unfortunate people who are not able to run I run. Motivation is a tricky thing. It saddens me to see a generation that lacks it.

Nothing left to do but smile! smile! smile!

Usually on Tuesday mornings my legs are sore from two days of rest and it takes a minute or so to work out the hitch in my giddy up. This morning my legs felt good and fresh and I was on my way down the road feeling fine when I got a cramp. Not the usual side cramp or calf, no this was different. My face cramped up. As I ran I thought about what might have brought this on and came up with only one solution, my two goofballs! I would consider myself a happy go lucky guy but I don't necessarily smile all the time. I have what some people refer to as the Cantwell smirk. A little crooked grin that appears when something funny enters my brain and since the twins arrived I have found that my smirk has got a lot wider and more frequent. Running along finding my grove my legs finally shifted to auto pilot and I began to think about the simple things that make me smile(which made my face hurt even that much more). It sounds silly but rainbows make me smile. Frogs make me smile because they remind me of Tanner when he was born. When I hear Sweet Emotion I turn the volume up and smile because it reminds me of walking in with my new wife. Snow makes me smile because I remember every time I strapped on my snowboard with good friends. Mountains make me smile. Porch Song reminds of Red Rocks and I smile. When I think about all my friends sitting on decks or next to campfires I smile. So as I ran, smiling, face hurting, I thought maybe I do smile more often than I think. Keep smiling everyone. The say you use 13 muscles to smile and twice as much to frown. That makes me smile.

What a wonderful morning for a Moondance!

I set out for a quick run this morning with a full moon to guide my way. On most mornings I tend to look down as I run but with a coat of condensation and a stellar amount of moon rays the road seemed to glow lunar green. Running along it didn't take long before Van Morrison entered my head and I was singing Moondance. I began to reminisce about the pre playlist days of putting in a Van Morrison cd on a Sunday morning and sitting down with a cup of coffee and a book. I can't say that I miss those days because waking up making banana pancakes for the twins and listening to our campfire playlist seems like a better trade. So I ran and I thought about what actually is the best album for Sunday mornings? Sure Moondance is fantastic but is it the best?

Sunshine! We missed you!

After a week of below 0 weather it is great to see the sun and the temp starting to rise. The twins can't wait to get outdoors and enjoy the sweet sounds of Spring. Making new friends with the animals will probably be a welcome relief from being couped up with two goofy parental units all winter long. I look forward to chasing after them and playing hide and go seek.