running with a coach

I have been IMG_4769running for decades, although the task has never been particularly easy nor have I been very fast, so I thought it time to learn about this sport I hope to continue for yet another decade. With this in mind, last April, on Fool’s Day, I began a ten week running clinic. I really didn’t know what to expect other than what was offered in the short blurb in our weekly paper: meet every Wednesday evening, 2 hour running time coupled with short lectures, gather at the town recreational path, and most importantly, all levels are welcome. After 5 weeks, I’m thrilled I signed up for what I have gained in such a short time is far more than I could have anticipated. Our very first class, shockingly, still met in frigid weather, 26 degrees on the thermometer. Ten women arrived, bundled in hats and gloves, and wearing multiple layers. Our coach arrived in a full down-parker. But what he told us on that night was to first and foremost keep running fun, and his weekly message has kept that theme at its very core. Then we learned how to run hills because this is Vermont after all.

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shadow season

Halloween starts the dark months in the northern hemisphere, when clocks race toward night while we still yearn for day, trees that just last week were ablaze are now bare, the mosaic of the forest floor morphs into a brown sepia tone, and the monochromatic blue-grey skyline fades quickly to black. Where can we look to find a spark? How can we edge up a smile that lasts past the early dusk? What lurks just ahead that can transform our outlook? Well, I have three suggestions.

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Touching Heaven

On Top of the World! On the highest peak in Vermont, Mt. Mansfield, one can see New York to the west, north is Canada, to the east New Hampshire, and on the clearest days you can spy Massachusetts. We took in the spectacular views after our windy climb up! 1 Continue reading