Fashionably late

They say that optimistic people are always late. I'm an optimistic person.

Anyway, I was in Vermont with Ed for the weekend, and the only things on the agenda were reading my book and watching some fireworks. This was pretty great, which is to say, I have no flippin' idea when I got out of bed on Sunday, or what time I decided that what I really wanted to do today was to run over some mountains.

I did know that I wanted to be in Concord MA at 5pm. I probably should have done the math backwards on that one, but there may have been some denial going on - better just not to know. There are signs of improvement, though - I actually told Ed where I was going. "I'm going to run down that ridge we ran last summer, you know, the one with the views and the trees and the bugs? Yeah, but I might deviate from that ridge if some other trails look inviting, and I'll probably try and make it a loop".  "ok, I'll start looking for you in a couple days".

So, I'm running along, totally loving life and loving that I can move my body like this and it just GOES where I want it to and I'm so thankful that I can do all this stuff and use my feet to carry me up to cool views, where I do cartwheels and yip and yeehaw and careen down rocky muddy trails. Sometimes it's very good to run alone. Somewhere along the way my watch dies, which is fine, it's rechargeable. But that meant I didn't really know how long I'd been running. Oh well, I still have like half a bottle's worth in this water bottle I'm carrying, so I can't have been out THAT long. I come to a junction, and I'm fairly positive I can turn it into a loop if I just keep going. The endorphins are pumping, the birds are singing, the sun is shining, life is great. My hunch pans out and it's the right trail, and eventually I come back out to the gravel road, which takes me back to the notch on a swooping, scenic, gradual downhill cruise. This is fun!

I'm still feeling good when I get to the car, and I've still got a sip or two of water left, so I can't have been out THAT long, and I've never seen the other direction of this trail, so I figure I'll go that way for a bit, just to see where it goes. Well, I tend to have a bad case of just-around-the-next-bend-itis, and I may have seen where it goes a little too long, but eventually I hit a flat area and decide that I'd better turn around while the turning around is still all downhill. Another fun little cruise-y downhill, and I'm back to the car, but I'm pretty solidly caked with mud up to the knees. Nothing to worry about, but this definitely calls for a mountain stream, nothing else will do. It's a short drive, and I try not to rub my legs too much all over my car seat, but then I'm at a stream, so I spend some time splashing around cleaning up and cooling off, and now I'm TOTALLY presentable for a party! Just 2 hours of driving left to get there! Back to the car, and I check my phone and see the time for the first time in probably quite a few hours, and there's a big oops, I'm already 15 minutes late...

So, that's how I showed up three hours late with mud between my toes. There was still cake, beer, and cheer, and I got to go for a sweet run, so on balance, I'd say this day was a win.