Today, I had my first run in New Hampshire--ever. Some places I go I have run at conferences. But I have never been to a conference in New Hampshire. In fact, as mentioned yesterday, I haven't been in New Hampshire since I was 9. So I probably "ran" somewhere at that time. But it was just that as a kid I was running as part of play. Rather than running for the sake of training. Although, I have commented before that running is one of my grown up forms of play. Today's run can be seen at http://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/532704711 with all the hills in all their glory. Mostly down for the first mile and a half. Then back up. The mostly down for the next two miles. Then back. All good. I even spent a half mile in and a half mile out on the local cross country trails.
Where does that put me on my virtual pilgrimage--at mile 1054. That is 14 above 40 per week for the first 26 weeks of the year. Definitely at or beyond where I planned to be. I think I am in a great position to make my goal by year's end. In the meantime, I am on the outskirts of Weaubleau Missour on US 54. No very nearby Catholic churches. There is a Baptist church in Weaubleau. I would have to think about what type of direct exposure I have had to Baptist churches. If this run were really across America rather than only virtually across America, I would probably stop for the sake of learning about the Baptist church a bit.
So, the run was slow. 8:55/mile. It was a great way to see the area.
And that brings me to another day of simple pleasures after my run. Sherry and I started from Wolfeboro, went to the Castle in the Clouds (a fascinating mountain top estate in Moltonborough, NH), and then went to the the outlet mall in Tiltin, NH. That allowed us to circumnavigate Lake Winnipessaukee. So much like my run of going out and back, we went out and back together. We spent the long day together from chatting even before I ran (I didn't mean to awaken her at 6), the my fixing her breakfast when I came back (a yogurt, granola, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry parfait), to the drive to the castle, to seeing "The Pebble" and the Falls of Song at the first stop, to seeing a cool scenic overview, to walking around the house at the top and reading all the interesting notes about the historial details together, to having lunch at the cafe. It was a big lunch. Each of us had a soup as part of our appetizer. I had clam chowder. Sherry had a lobster stew in a tomato base. Both were good. And both were serious bowls. We also got Bavarian pretzel bread sticks with an awesome cheddar sauce. That was a lot. Then I got an English pub burger while Sherry got a lobster roll. We needed the lobster role explained to us. Our very pleasant waitress, Rachel, was surprised we needed lobster rolls explained to us. We topped it off with a chilled bottle of crisp white wine. Not usually wine for lunch, but it worked on the warm day on the patio. We took long enough and ate enough that the wine didn't affect us. We got a book at Lucknow (the original name of the estate) at the gift shop. Then we drove to Tiltin. We started with cold drinks from Starbucks. Then we went into nearly every store that sold something other than just kid stuff. In the end we bought only four items. But it was a great way to walk off the food and fullness from the huge lunch. I carried everything we bought to allow Sherry to have her hands free to look and try a few things on. Then we drove back together. Sat together catching up on emails. Then, I served water, cherries, and chocolate. We didn't need much food.
But once again it was just about being together. Enjoying presence.
And tomorrow will be another great day starting off once again with a run.
Where does that put me on my virtual pilgrimage--at mile 1054. That is 14 above 40 per week for the first 26 weeks of the year. Definitely at or beyond where I planned to be. I think I am in a great position to make my goal by year's end. In the meantime, I am on the outskirts of Weaubleau Missour on US 54. No very nearby Catholic churches. There is a Baptist church in Weaubleau. I would have to think about what type of direct exposure I have had to Baptist churches. If this run were really across America rather than only virtually across America, I would probably stop for the sake of learning about the Baptist church a bit.
So, the run was slow. 8:55/mile. It was a great way to see the area.
And that brings me to another day of simple pleasures after my run. Sherry and I started from Wolfeboro, went to the Castle in the Clouds (a fascinating mountain top estate in Moltonborough, NH), and then went to the the outlet mall in Tiltin, NH. That allowed us to circumnavigate Lake Winnipessaukee. So much like my run of going out and back, we went out and back together. We spent the long day together from chatting even before I ran (I didn't mean to awaken her at 6), the my fixing her breakfast when I came back (a yogurt, granola, strawberry, blueberry, blackberry parfait), to the drive to the castle, to seeing "The Pebble" and the Falls of Song at the first stop, to seeing a cool scenic overview, to walking around the house at the top and reading all the interesting notes about the historial details together, to having lunch at the cafe. It was a big lunch. Each of us had a soup as part of our appetizer. I had clam chowder. Sherry had a lobster stew in a tomato base. Both were good. And both were serious bowls. We also got Bavarian pretzel bread sticks with an awesome cheddar sauce. That was a lot. Then I got an English pub burger while Sherry got a lobster roll. We needed the lobster role explained to us. Our very pleasant waitress, Rachel, was surprised we needed lobster rolls explained to us. We topped it off with a chilled bottle of crisp white wine. Not usually wine for lunch, but it worked on the warm day on the patio. We took long enough and ate enough that the wine didn't affect us. We got a book at Lucknow (the original name of the estate) at the gift shop. Then we drove to Tiltin. We started with cold drinks from Starbucks. Then we went into nearly every store that sold something other than just kid stuff. In the end we bought only four items. But it was a great way to walk off the food and fullness from the huge lunch. I carried everything we bought to allow Sherry to have her hands free to look and try a few things on. Then we drove back together. Sat together catching up on emails. Then, I served water, cherries, and chocolate. We didn't need much food.
But once again it was just about being together. Enjoying presence.
And tomorrow will be another great day starting off once again with a run.
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