Four more miles

I'm presently four miles away from logging 1,000 miles, thanks to Tall Mom's 1,000 Mile Club, which has been a HUGE inspiration. Knowing that I'll later record my mileage has gotten my butt out the door on more than one rainy day.

Thanks, Tall Mom! Someday when I'm in Seattle I'll drive down and try to keep up with you on a run.

Other good news: An electric blanket.

For those of you who don't live in a northern climate in a house lined with huge windows offering both awesome views and a lot of wind seepage, you probably can't appreciate the thrill of finally lounging on the sofa in toasty glory: Ahhhh!

I've been reluctant to carry my camera on runs. After working 13 years as a journalist and having to think visually about each story plus often shoot my own photos, I'm rebelling by not taking photos, which makes for a very boring blog. So here are some of Mount Marathon Bowl Trail before it snowed. See all the rocks over the trail? This is why I'm always falling. This is why my knees are forever scraped.

I met up with these three crazy Coast Guard dudes on the way down. They were running and singing Coastie songs. It was a riot. Nice kids--did I ever have that much energy? Anyway, they were in on the Healy Cutter. Hope they're having fun zooming around the Arctic seas.

I was up in Anchorage last week interviewing for a criminal justice technician position. It paid well, sounded interesting and I liked the people I met.

Then I learned that one of the job duties was monitoring offenders' urine tests. I thought: Yeah, I can do that. I can stand outside the bathroom door and make sure no one goes in.

Then I learned that I'd have to actually be in the bathroom while the offenders peed and I thought, well, that might be a tad uncomfortable but I can do it.

Then I found out that I would actually have to witness the urine releasing from the offender's body and spraying into the sample cup and I thought: Is this really why I went to graduate school?

Oh well ....

But I did have some awesome runs while I was in the Big City. It was SO nice running on my favorite trails and seeing my old friends. Hopefully I'll be back living there soon.

Also went down to Homer with MM for the weekend. MM took the pics (sorry to steal them sweetie, hee, hee).

The cabin is out of town and very cozy. We had an awesome time.

Except (there's always an except, isn't there?) there's no running water. That's no big deal in the summer. But when it's below freezing and the middle of the night, it's not fun stumbling out to the outhouse and situating one's butt on a cold (COLD!) wooden outhouse toilet hole.

I suggested to MM that a cushioned toilet seat would be great to carry back and forth from the cabin to the outhouse. I suggested that perhaps he buy me one.

I don't think this is going to happen.

We also took a long walk on the beach with the Beebs. Here's a pic at sunset, taken during a trip earlier this summer.

We ate at Two Sisters Bakery, which has awesome food and even more awesome vegan muffins. I would run all the way to Homer (167 miles) for another one of those muffins.

Running:
Monday: 11 miles
Wednesday: 9.1 miles
Thursday: 4 miles

Reading: "The Age of Grief" by Jane Smiley. I recently finished "The Mystery of Breathing" by Parri Klass. Read it if you have a chance--the writing is beautiful and slyly funny in places.