by I spent a lot of time today at the French Place house. It makes me so relaxed to be there; I’m not sure exactly why, but when I pull up, it’s like the weight of the world falls off my shoulders. And it’s not that there’s nothing to do there — there’s all kinds of yard work to be done, which is why I’m there in the first place. Everywhere I look, there are things I want/need to get done around the house. But yet, I feel a real serenity when I’m there.
We’re getting moving on the remodeling plans, which was one reason for my visit. We’re having a feasibility study done by an architect. From there, we’ll work on specific plans for remodeling. Our renter’s lease will be up in May, so we’d like to be ready to start then — all plans in place and a contractor lined up. We’ll move in as soon as whatever work is being done is finished.
I find myself really looking forward to the long run tomorrow. My body is feeling the best it has in months, maybe even years. The cleaner diet has certainly helped, losing some weight (slowly but steadily) can’t hurt, and having my hamstring feel “repaired” must be the icing on the cake. I think the shorter, faster runs are doing wonders for me and I am loving the workouts. You know, I started out as a road runner, obsessing over splits and mile pacing and working the track like no tomorrow. Racing almost every weekend. I haven’t had that mentality since 2005 when I went “off road” to do Pikes Peak. It’s refreshing to be back.
Because we’re traveling, I’ll be doing my next long run on Thursday morning before we catch our flight to London in the evening. Usually, I meet Dr. Stephanie at 8:30 a.m. on Thursdays for some route around the lake. I think I may just get up early and at least do 7 miles before we meet. Then, whatever we do, I can add on however much I need for a total of 14 miles. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep on the plane after that!
I’m not sure how I’m going to fit running into the travel plans. I’ll come back, have about a week, and then leave again for Germany. So for three weeks out of the month of July, I’ll be in England and Germany, where it’s a balmy 50–80 degrees during the day. I hate to lose the acclimatization I’ve worked so hard for this last month, but it will be sweet to not sweat to death on a run and ride.
