i ran farther than you did today.

here i am during a brief respite from the cushion peak adventure race this past spring. as usual, the weather was far from cooperative and while it was probably sunny and 70 degrees at home, it was a bit on the chilly side and foggy up at the peak. kevin and i demolished the coed field once again, taking first place for the second year in a row. this spring may pose a larger challenge. and the race is tough to begin with.

but anyway, this respite was a moment off the bikes in order to shoot some bows and arrows. this is a fun race in particular because there are funny challenges worked in, like shooting guns as well as bows and arrows while in a hypoxic state. i think this time around i hit the required two targets in the bow and arrow section. it more than made up for my sucky mountain biking.

my favorite part of the race is the running, because alas, i am a runner first, an archer second, and a mountain biker third. well, actually, i am a post-race warm food and fake oreos eater third. then maybe mountain biker. but we run along, kevin usually yells at me and i make fun of him in return, and we are occasionally heckled by other competitors. there is this team of two women (amy and ?? i cannot remember the name...) who we've seen both of the past two years. they are fun and could kick my butt any day. but usually we can take them on the run. are you sensing a trend? the bike is where i slow down. but i always like a good sloggy run.

well, today i got my wish, and i got a run. a real, honest run, not in a neighborhood and more than two miles. i went out for a run with ed and the browns, and we ran along roads and trails (with one creek crossing) out past unionville in the spectacular horse country. i love running out there anyway. last year a few of us headed out for a run out there and saw a flock of snow geese. we also saw how fog had frozen on the grasses and trees and made everything look like something out of a dream. it is beautiful out there.

but today, we ran about five miles and i ran the entire thing. there was a point where i could have bailed and done a shorter run, but i was feeling good and i figured it would be better to push it with a group around. i was tired at the end, especially thanks to the fact that the last two miles were basically uphill. but man, did i feel great. i've been in a fantastic mood all day because of it. there are few things better than a morning like today. what a day. what a day.