Easy day? Day 3

Another day without refined sugar. I'm still having cravings, but not as badly. The first evening was the worst.

However, I am feeling a bit sore and tired from yesterday's run. Today, I needed the easy gentle run that I can't have here. Once again, I slept past the magic hour. The run started at about 7:30 am. 3.06 miles.

The best option for a "flat" run seems to be the creek path. It's not quite flat, but a very modest U shape over 0.5 of a mile, compared to the sharper and shorter Us or Ws or WWWWs elsewhere (leaving the big hills out of the comparison). I wish the creek path was even just another 0.5 mile longer, but beggars can't be choosers. I didn't quite loosen up on this run, but with repetition, I'll get used to it more. There is a bit of a ripple getting to another path on the top of the river bank, and then it's down to the creek path and the bottom of the U...this fairly long downhill stretch should allow some sort of muscular relaxation. The type of run I need is one that is so easy that I can feel my quads (other muscles too, but mainly my quads) uncoil. Strictly speaking, they are not springs nor snakes, but an easy jog gets the blood flowing a little bit more vigorously which probably clears out a bit of cellular debris, a little bit here, a little bit there, but the general sensation is of a bunch of knots or soreness or tightness smoothing out, and the muscle, refreshed, lengthening in a relaxed stretch. Uncoiling.

We went back up the hill by the river and my dog became very intent on smells at this point. I stopped to let him sniff and then we walked because he had a scent trail, and I noticed clumps of coarse pale fur. It looked too coarse to be from a pet. I'm not sure what feral cat fur looks like, and I'll never get close enough to check, but this seemed even coarser. It's probable that the coyotes in the area run along the river and then run up the bank into town occasionally. We (ok, I) wouldn't be able to go down to the river gracefully, because the bank is steep and high and there's not much down there for me, mainly mud and a train track at the bottom, no stroll at the water's edge here, but there's nothing that would dissuade a coyote between trains.

The sun came out from behind the clouds (or above the horizon? not sure because it was so overcast) near the end of our run, turning the sky a vibrant blue. It didn't last long but it was lovely. When this happens near the end of a run, and it's not 30+C, it's very fulfilling for some reason (likely to be analyzed further during unpacking, still more unpacking...as far as we know, we'll move again this December, so maybe all the random things should just go back into the boxes for next time, but I have this urge to prune our possessions at least a little bit...)

Anyway, due to my husband's schedule, the dog and I will have much of Saturday to ourselves. Where will we run? In the backwoods on post? Clear out of town? Or one big loop within it?