5 miles
bottom of franklin hill and back
69 degrees
Another run that started easy then got hard. My left hip and knee were stiff and sore. Walked several times on the way back.
Listened to feet shuffling on the grit, some keys jangling in a bucket. Smelled something floral and sweet near the franklin bridge. Felt a cool breeze on my warm face, sweat dripping off of my pony tail. Saw blue, red, and orange graffiti under the lake street bridge and a man helping a dog get through a hole in the chain link fence halfway down the franklin hill.
Ran by a break in the trees with an inviting dirt trail and thought again about how I love seeing these trails and wondering where they lead. Then I thought about how I prefer trails that have already been made by others — an invitation from past feet to explore and to step off the paved path.
Saw this poem online this morning and was surprised that I hadn’t already posted it:
blessing the boats/ lucille clifton
may the tide
that is entering even now
the lip of our understanding
carry you out
beyond the face of fear
may you kiss
the wind then turn from it
certain that it will
love your back may you
open your eyes to water
water waving forever
and may you in your innocence
sail through this to that
swim: 3 loops
72 degrees
light rain
I like swimming in the rain — when it’s a light rain. Have I ever swam in a hard rain? I’m not sure. When you are already wet, it’s difficult to tell what’s rain and what’s lake. Another great swim. I’m struggling in my runs, but loving the water.
10 things
- a steady rain that I couldn’t feel or see as I swam
- water, a darker green with some blue
- tangled in several thin, loose vines — one on my head, another my shoulders, and another on my legs — most were just slimy, but one was sharp and scratchy
- pale vines stretching up from the deepest parts of the lake — how tall are these vines this year? they glowed like the moon behind the clouds
- particles in the water, almost looking like glitter — or, was that raindrops breaking the surface?*
- mostly breathing every five — a few sixes, some threes, at least one two
- pink orange yellow safety buoys tethered to swimmers
- rounding the second green buoy, sighting the first orange buoy — so far off and lonely — just it and water — and only appearing in my vision when it wanted to
- some sort of disturbance below me — was it a big fish? — nothing seen, only felt, the water moving beneath me
- standing up near the beach after I finished, noticing the rain, then hearing some kids in the water excitedly yelling, It’s raining!
*It wasn’t until I wrote this out that I realized I was noticing the rain. It was very cool. The rain drop glitter made the water feel more alive, active — stirred up and swirling
I was surprised by how many people were at the beach. It had been raining all afternoon. People were still having picnics, kids were still in the water, several dozen swimmers were out on the course