0430

Four thirty AM and I have a love//hate relationship. I hit my alarm and can't seem to imagine anything worse than leaving my nice warm bed. I brush my teeth, stumble downstairs, gulp some water, and wish I was still seeeing the inside of my eyelids. I never hate 0430 more than in that first 10 minutes. But then, I fumble outthe laundry room door and stretch for 30 seconds just taking in the phenomenal Tuscan skyline, I push play on my itouch and start up the driveway. At that point, four thirty becomes my refuge. The sky is fading into a sunrise and even the birds haven't yet risen to greet the day. Everything smells fresh and I hardly remember anyone else even exists, it's just me and the rest of the world. Just the two of us, belonging soley to one another.

This morning I pushed myself up the drive. I am not so fond of hills, so I typically use them as recovery and take it easy then push myself on the flats or even downhill. But I wasn't exhausted yesterday. I hurt a little and I was tired, but that's not good enough. I'm not looking to bump my mile down a minute, I am trying to summit a mountain. The mountain. I want to feel aches in places I forgot hurt from running. So I pushed. I went up the drive, down the road, out onto the walk-ridge, and then I reached where we turn around on walk. I knew the road continued in and eventually down into the valley and then back up, but I wasn't sure how far it was. I decided for it. I followed the road out across the entire ridge which was maybe a half mile. Then down about a mile of hill at which point I turned left to loop back towards the hill I knew was going to be hell, but the road just kept going. One mile, two... My body knows well enough the 1mi, 3mi, and 5mile marks but anything above that just kind of blurs together. It's the reason I made such a good XC runner, I can't sprint for a dime but I will run you into the ground if you try to keep with me. By the time I reached the hil, my whole body ached with the numbness that comes from 5mi and up but I still pushed myself up that ridiculous hill. It's about a mile of maybe a 65+ degree incline. I killed it. I kept my speed and ran about 75% all the way up that sucker. I reached the top and continued to push the entire mile or so home. Including a solid spring the last quarter mile. I'd love to know exactly how far I went, maybe I'll dock it sometime. I did the whole loop in a little less than 1 1/2 hours, feels good. My legs are killing me and I am effectively exhausted. Think I'll do the whole thing again tomorrow.

Eliza mentioned getting a jogging stroller in Vermont to take Antonio out in the mornings so she can sleep. I don't know if that was a serious statement but I think that's a great idea. Combining pleasure with passion equals awesomeness.