All Who Wander May Not Be Lost, But I Kind Of Was

Today’s Numbers: Nancy's Total Movement Mileage: 397.2 (running: 284.4; walking: 19; biking: 93.8) Money Found For Food Bank: $35.69

2,015 in 2015 Change Hounds progress: Nancy: 397.2 Aaron: 277.5 (b: 251.4; w: 26.1)  Elly: 79.8 Total: 754.5

Yesterday when I said that I'd take easy (while it was there) because tomorrow won't be, I had no idea I was jinxing the hell out of myself ...

Happy Friday and Happy May!!! While not a single thing went the way I hoped/wanted/planned this morning, I managed to go with as much of the flow as I could, and it all worked out okay! I will not bore you with the details of the should-have-been-quick appointment and (sooooo wasn't) I had before heading out to run, but I managed to not let the annoyance of it spill into my run. Ten miles is hard enough; why self-inflict pain on top of that?

So, there I was cruising along the first couple of miles, almost an hour after originally planned -- boo!, somewhat patting myself on the back for not getting all upheaved and/or emotional about the morning disruption (GROWTH) when I realized something: I had no real idea where I was. At least, I had no idea where I was headed as the roads did not match the map in my head.

This was the very moment when I thought, "Huh. I'm pretty
sure this isn't right ..."

I knew the vicinity of where I was, so I had hope of running into a road I knew and getting back on course. That was soon foiled:

It's one thing for the sidewalk to end. It's another entirely for
the find place you planned to go is swarmed with construction.

The bummer of it was I really had no idea how far out of my way I'd gone, and I wasn't really interested in adding more to the mileage. If I could have hit the road I was heading to, it would've been a wash in terms of distance. But, there I was without any other option than to double-back and figure it out on the fly.

The route I was about to get back on had three different loops I'd put in along the way, so I kept debating, "Given how far I just went, I think I can blow off such-and-such loop and still get in the miles ..." I spent a mile or so playing my best-guess mental math until, frankly, I was just annoying myself trying to guesstimate the best plan. In the meantime, physically, I was feeling really good. I mean, the sun beating down on the dark clothes I sported wasn't awesome, but my muscles (the important parts in this story) felt great. So, I decided to run the route as planned and take the additional distance.

As it turns out, I went an extra 1.2 miles. So, guess who's running 10 miles next week instead of 11! This girl!

The loop I debated the most to take out ended up being the best part of the whole outing. Check out my little lake tour:

See the goose?! Note to self: Watch the path and what you're
potentially stepping in. Just sayin'.

Isn't it funny that when you see a duck in the wild, you act
like you've never, ever seen a duck before?

Check out the family!

Yeah, these adults -- and the other two with their babies on
the left side of this same path -- were not happy I was there.
At all. They hissed a lot. I admit it was a little unnerving, so
I bolted between the four hoping for the best (aka: no attack).
I made it unscathed! WHEW! For real, I was a bit nervous!
Those suckers are big!! Four, hissing geese. Creepy!

And, then there was this moment where the path did not match the map in my head. Again.

But, I had faith and kept going forward. That seemed a better idea than going back toward the angry geese. And, I'm pleased to say, this path wound around in unexpected ways but, most importantly, ended up where I thought it should. I'd say I planned that, but I already admitted that I really, really didn't.

After saying good-bye to the lake and non-friends, the geese, I only had a mile to go. And, for that, I was thankful because I was hot. And kind of tired. I wasn't too tired to spy a couple of quarters and pennies in that last mile, but I was tired enough to likely make people wonder as I awkwardly squatted down to the road to retrieve them. It has to be quite a sight. I'd stare and wonder, too.

It's an odd thing when you begin your day by entirely scrapping any semblance of plan you had only to find yourself required to just go with the flow. Fortunately, I'm learning better and better how to just embrace it and go forth! Here's to hoping your day -- no matter how it's going -- is a peaceful one, and I'll check in on tomorrow's Rest Day!