This was a slightly more chill weekend, at least as these things go. There is nothing minimalist or simple about a life with five active kids. One kid was at a Boy Scout camping trip most of the weekend. Another had a practice SAT, a party, choir, and a practice for singing the national anthem at an upcoming sporting event. Other children had swim practice and a swim team party and a trumpet lesson and soccer but given the usual pace of stuff this was all not so intense. I went in the pool Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Actually, it was the hot tub on Friday and Saturday but Sunday it was warm enough in the afternoon and we cranked up the heat and some of us lasted most of an hour.
I guess it is officially fall now, so those might be among the last pool trips. September can sometimes be a bonus summer month, with very pleasant days, albeit cooler mornings and nights. I’ve been trying to seize these lingering days.
It was a physically active weekend for me. On Saturday morning I went and ran loops at a local nature trail. I did three loops, which came out to 8.3 (maybe 8.4) miles. I did this in 88 minutes, so that is roughly a 10:40 pace or so, which is close to what I’m hoping to do in my upcoming race. Originally I planned to do 10-plus miles, but then I found out a local trail association was doing a guided hike on Saturday that I wanted to do with them. So, after running the 8.3 miles I quick went home, got a little more coffee and food, then met the group and hiked about 4 miles on some fairly substantial hills.
It all felt pretty decent — this, my 12-plus mile morning — which is…welcome. I’m sending a reassuring message back to January Laura (who couldn’t walk) that this would be possible in September. Here’s hoping this trajectory continues. There’s also just the reality of training for a long race that as you run progressively longer long runs, the earlier long runs don’t feel quite so long. Having run 10.7 miles the previous weekend, 8.3 felt short!
On Sunday evening I went to a performance of Bach’s Musical Offering (BWV 1079) by Filament, an early music group. I enjoyed this, as I also enjoyed listening to several violin pieces as part of my daily Bach listening. As I near the end of that project, I’m pondering what my 2025 year-long project will be. We shall see.
In the meantime, here’s a sonnet called Monday Night:
The asters by the porch have bloomed, a leaf
or two falls in the blue, confetti, gold.
The dusk descends, and with it, disbelief
that summer ends. The smaller boys behold
the driveway, fading, almost hard to see.
Two little bikes go hurtling, racing time
they’ve got a favorite gnarled cherry tree
and so the older one begins to climb.
I help the younger up — their branches part,
and there, in the September sky, the moon
is full, is orange, the evening clouds just start
to tiptoe in, to genuflect, and soon
we all are silent, spellbound by the sheen
and that, what could be hidden, we have seen.