I wake up Saturday morning

I wake up Saturday morning with Ash. It is 6 a.m., and I am ready to tackle Sabino Canyon. Since running Pemberton, every run at Sabino has hurt my itb; there is so much up-and-down running throughout the canyon. I have a little trepidation, but feel confident after the preceding few days of pain-free exercise. I quickly swallow a bowl of oatmeal, make my handheld of gatorade and throw on shorts, a t-shirt and my jacket. It is 42 degrees out, and I hope I am dressed warm enough. I am the queen of over-dressing (Over-doing, over-dressing, any other words I can prefix with over- to describe my actions???), so I hope that by feeling cold, I'll actually be just right.

I pull into the parking lot a few mintues early, and Kiera comes out to meet me, looking cold with no hat or mittens, wearing only shorts and a long-sleeve shirt. I still feel over-dressed with my mittens and winter cap on!

We take off down the dirt road off the east end of the parking log, marveling at the dark, stormy clouds dancing about the desert spires surrounding the canyon. It is windy, and the cold whips around us. I warm up, though, and take off my hat and mittens. Good thing my jacket has lots of pockets!

Kiera is not feeling well; she is sick, as are her children, which means no sleep in their house the night before. Even still, we have good conversation. I am having fun, feeling my body move through the cold air. We talk about running, about spinning, about kids. I work through my conflicting feelings about running the Sugar & Spice ultra - I want to run it so bad, I am such a sucker for adventure, it's so exciting, yet it's so soon. Here I was thinking October's Soul/Sole run was sort of soon...I had these plans prior to Pemberton about building up my strength before upping my mileage again. And I just spent the last month nursing an injury! I want to be wise, do the wise thing, but when have I ever been known to be wise? Be patient? Listening to the siren song of the ultra will cause me to crash and burn...Kiera listens patiently, and then says quietly, gently, "This could be a turning point for you."

Her words echo in my head as we finish the run. We wind up and over the ridge separating Rattlesnake Canyon from the tram road, and this week, there is no pain in my itb. Yay! I feel great, still fresh, and ready to continue. We walk the last few tenths of a mile as a cool-down, and I feel what I've been waiting to feel: like I could go on for 10 more miles. Yes!

I give Kiera a ride home, and head back to my boys. I enter the house as the end of a giant temper tantrum bursts through the rooms, like a bolt of lightning crashing to the earth. Ash is angry, and Johnny informs me that Ash has been in a foul mood all morning. It takes every ounce of energy I have to keep the good run feelings slipping away. I get down on the floor and talk to Ash. I listen, he sees that I am listening and calms down. Eventually, life moves on and everyone feels better...I am happy that I could step in and calm the raging storm...usually that is Johnny's role.

We decide to go grocery shopping, and by the time we draft our list and get out of the house, Ash is exhausted. I am bummed; generally, he does not nap and instead, chooses to spend the rest of the day in a pissy mood. He requests KT Tunstall, and within 10 minutes, is fast asleep. No shopping happening for awhile! We must take advantage of his sleeping. Johnny pulls in to his mom's place, and she volunteers to watch him while we shop. Amazingly, Ash stays asleep in the transition from the car to her bed - poor guy must have been wiped out.

We head home after shopping to get the frozen stuff taken care of before we pick up Ash. On the way, Johnny's mom calls with the good news that we are not only getting a tax refund this year, but it is a good-sized one. We are dancing in the car! After stuffing the freezer, we head back out to pick up Ash, only to receive a call when we are half-way there. "Nana wants me to spend the night," Ash tells us, his mouth full of chocolate candy. Well, then. WOO HOO!!!!

Two episodes of great news within an hour. We whip the car around to head home, but have no clue what to do with ourselves. So we stop by Mike's gallery. Then we head home and discuss the evening. We settle on dinner at C.I. Chu's Mongolian BBQ, and Brokeback Mountain. (What?! A movie in the theatre?! Big screen!? Oohh, ahhh...)

I wake up this morning at 7 to a child-free home, and stretch my well-rested limbs. I roll over and smile at the sight of my fuzzy-haired husband curled up beside me. I close my eyes for a few more minutes of peace, then decide to get out of bed. I pad into the living room to open the blinds covering the glass sliding door onto our balcony, and grin at the sight of snow clouds lifting above the desert sky islands to show off the sight of pristine white snow blanketing the mountains. I quickly grab the camera to grab a few shots before the sun can melt it all away.

I decide to let Johnny sleep in; it is a rare luxury to have the morning to ourselves. I reach for the Mercedes Lackey novel on the table; it is the first of hers I am reading. I lose myself in a fantasy land of fairy godmothers, unicorns and magic for an hour or so, then wake Johnny up. I'm hungry; I want some coffee. We get dressed, brush our teeth, and head out the door to delight in the beauty of a snwoy day in Tucson.

Later, Johnny heads out to work on a research paper for school, and Ash and I decide to make cookies. Yummy!