The best part about driving home from work this week? Pulling in to the driveway each afternoon to witness the hairline of snow recede and melt along the drive and on the lawn, revealing the life that's been buried beneath it since November. Tiny shoots of grass are grasping their way toward the sun, forging a path through thick mud and leftover ice. The tips of our boxwoods and evergreens are beginning to poke through the remnants of 2-foot snow piles, while the ice that once made the front walkway as treacherous as a hike through the Arctic melts and flows like a river in the middle of the suburbs.
Miniature mountain of snow aside, methinks I spy a bit of life in the grass.
Although Winter remains adamant about holding Michigan in its grasp here and there, Spring, just around the corner, is ready to pounce. One can almost smell the sun shining when you walk outdoors, and temps are flirting with 50 degrees all this week. I might even run outdoors tonight... gasp! It's been months since my feet have pounded real pavement.
I, too, am showing signs of life. As the snow and ice dissolve into oblivion outside, I'm finally starting to peel off the layers of funk that I've been wallowing in for the past few months. The fresh air gives way to a renewed sense of purpose and determination, and with it comes a new, albeit slightly last-minute, goal: to run the Kalamazoo Marathon on May 8.
The hubs and I had originally planned on running the half that day, but became inspired to do the full for various reasons. Perhaps most significantly, a friend of ours, who got serious about running in recent years, ran his first 26.2 last weekend and qualified for Boston. Yowza! Now there's some significant inspiration to get out and run.
And so, we're back on the Marathon Training Wagon with a 12-week program that commenced last night with 5 easy miles. Back to thinking twice about too many cocktails on the Saturday night before a Sunday morning long run. Back to double digit mileage weeks and sore knees. Back to spending most of our waking free hours on the trail along side Hines, mushy GU packets in sweaty hands.
Back to living.