Its impossible to watch a sunset and not dream ~ Bern Williams

Tapering for the Marine Corp Marathon began this week. Now you runners that know me know how bad I am at following training plans. My goal for next year is to race less and train more/better but since I filled my schedule with a bunch of races, and I have a hard time not going all out when I race, I am blaming my race schedule for my poor training ethic this year. Anyhow, after the VT 50 I decided that I could start following the marathon training plan to get me through the next couple of weeks. (Funny thing is I did the same thing while training for the VT 50…I decided to stick to the training plan the last two weeks of the plan.). I had a nice 5 mile run with some intervals thrown in on Monday. The colors were beautiful running in Deering on the back country dirt roads and rail trail. On my way home Monday I had noticed that the colors down Bear hill road looked like they were at peak and the reflection of the setting sun made them look even better. Tuesday the plan was to run 3 miles. REALLY? 3 miles. Ugh. Barely worth getting geared up to only run 3! BUT I remembered how I felt the night before as I saw the reflection of the setting sun down Bear Hill road so on Tuesday I set out for Bear Hill on my measely lil 3 mile run. I did contemplate not running at all and tried to find a good excuse (including this darn head cold that I am refusing to let get the best of me) but there are not any “good” excuses for missing a workout.

A couple pics from last Monday:

View from back country road in Deering

Tuesday: So I set out for Bear Hill, its a great road because in addition to the farms and hill it parallels the river. I had my phone with me anticipating great pictures along the way. I was disappointed because it didn’t look like there was going to be a good sunset. Boy was I wrong. As I headed up bear hill I took some pics of my favorite cows and made my way up. I hadn’t planned on running all the way up since I *only* had to do 3 miles but I saw the sun. It was orange and pink and the reflection on the colorful trees was beautiful so I just had to make my way up to the top for a better view. I could see the brilliant colors of red, orange and pink shining brightly from behind the trees. I rounded the top and started back down to find one of the most amazing sunsets I had ever seen. This past week there were so many beautiful sunsets! I soaked it up as much as I could because winter is coming and I know there will be some cloudy days ahead. I know to never second guess going for a run- You never know what adventures you will find until you get out there and explore.

Some pics from sunsets this past week:

Bear Hill

Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer to your goal. ~Elbert Hubbard

Wednesday on a trail run

There is no beginning or end to your dreams or plans. Life is a journey from moment to moment.

Live each moment to its fullest
~ Garth Catterall-Heart

Saturday sunset in the White Mountains

At the end of the day there are no excuses, no explanations, and no regrets.

~Steve Maraboli