The Silence of Sunday

I just went downstairs to pour myself another cup of coffee and I realized something...it's so quiet!  If you live in an urban area or have a busy household with kids and pets you probably know how rare this is.  Even for me here in a suburban area (and no kids or pets) I still have a bit of constant street noise on the main road - something that's increased as our neighborhood has developed over the years - but you get used to it.

But today it's extra quiet - and that quiet was jarring.  Hardly any cars are on the roads and no one is out walking their dogs or outside doing yardwork.  Hmmm, looks like it rained last night - the streets are damp and we've got heavy clouds and mist on a magical late August morning.  Wasn't it just sizzling in the high 90s a week ago?  Fall is teasing us with a preview of what's around the corner.

Am I ready to say goodbye to summer?  Honestly, no.  We really haven't had a consistent summer here this year and as I've likely written before, I tend to mentally plunge into Fall kicking and screaming, resisting every day that draws closer to that change of season.  Don't get me wrong - there are tons of things I love about Fall.  Changing leaves. Crispy air. Cashmere sweaters.  Boots.  Hockey season.  Maybe there's a bit of ingrained "back to school" drudgery deep in the body rhythms that still flares up the resistance.

Alrighty then.  I'm going to be shameless here and not sheepish:  my post on Friday (yeah, I am doing two posts this weekend so it's bonus time) was about my unexpected back pain which prevented me from attending a high school reunion I'd been looking forward to for months!  I couldn't move without twinges and even twinge'd just sitting or standing still!  What's the other funky part?  Well, I had a 5K early Saturday morning (yesterday) and somehow, no joke, my back was completely FINE yesterday.  What the F?  And how dorky or flakey does it sound when people ask hey, fivenineteen, how was your weekend?  Me:  well, I had back pain on Friday which I never have and couldn't attend a high school reunion that night but somehow the next morning my back was just fine and back to normal so I did a 5K - ???  Anyone see how weird this is?  But it's my truth.

There was something special about this 5K - it's the same one I did exactly one year ago - my very first!  How much has cycled through life in this past year...no job, a short-term job, no job for months and now this new job I'm currently in...a short relationship of sorts earlier this year...I could go on and on!  So it was awesome coming back to this 5K - my 4th now under my belt - knowing a lot more what to expect.

T and I did this one together just as we did for the one in Seattle proper a few weeks ago.  This was the Snoqualmie Railroad Days 5K and 10K (with a 1K for kids) so it's a fun contrast running in rural areas vs. in the city proper.  And this is a very flat, fast course which is why it's very popular.

I woke up Saturday expecting to have more back pain and wonder how I would squeak through the 5K. But - oddly and miraculously - I had none.  It was early and I rolled out of bed and got into my running attire.  Yep, going on day 2 now of not showering so I was feeling a little stinky.

T and I carpooled to the race site and we went over to pick up our packets (t-shirt, timing chip for your shoe and bib number to pin on your shirt).  We had a good laugh when the the volunteer first couldn't find T's packet but then after looking at a long master list realized they had her registered for the 10K, not the 5K!  And T burst out with a oh HELL to the NO...what the F?  Hilarious! 

The course was just as beautiful as I remembered and it was a good turnout of around 350 (compare that to 3500 at the one in Seattle!).  I finished with a time of 40:37 - last year it was 38:23.  But in the end, who cares?  I had a blast and I had not been training as actively this year for this one and walked a few intervals.  It still feels good crossing that finish line with everyone cheering!

We had a fun group over at T's house to celebrate her birthday too...what's not to love about a girls' night in with laughing, wine and munchies?  And homemade cupcakes thanks to T's boyfriend too!  We were looking forward to meeting him but it turns out he had to work.  D is an extremely talented musician (singer-songwriter, plays guitar) - we had his CD as our background music and watched one of his videos on YouTube.  I'm impressed! Rock and country with a heavy dose of Jimmy Buffett woven in.  Love it!

And as I got out of bed this morning, relishing the laziness of Sunday, my upper legs and abs reminded me of yesterday's 5K.  A few aches and sore muscles!

But good aches.