How was July?

After a rather successful Juneathon (I did manage to run/log/blog every single day) July met me in a bit of a motivational dip. Luckily there were all the bloggers around who reassured me it is all right not to feel like moving every day. My golden motivational sentence: “I always feel better after a run than before” worked yet again and so at the end the RunSaturday statistics ended quite okay as I managed to plod over 150 km running km in July.

So all together, we had 4 sunny and warm days during which we could easily run barefoot on the beach. And we had a dear friend visiting us and we ourselves went to visit friends in Czech republic. And we finally bought our pied-a-terre in the Alps. And I picked up geocaching again.

Unfortunately, all the good things were washed away by some bad news: we have lost a dear friend. And it seems like I am not going to progress much with my running in the coming months (the Blue Team knows already but may not tell yet). The volumes and speed are already decreasing. Big question mark: the 10 km race in September in Prague.

But despite all the news and events, good and bad, the universal truth remains: running heals! Enjoy summer, all of you, and keep running!

Back to basics

Also this year, I spent a weekend in the summer country house of my mother, the house that used to be the start of all my weekend and holiday adventures when I was a child. We used to come here on Fridays and while my parents were working in the garden or around the house, I was free to play around and discover the outside world. There was a huge garden full with fruit trees and behind it, just a short walk away, the deep forest started – each summer with blueberries and mushrooms and each winter with snow and deer…

Back then I did not need any running or outdoor gear, maps, planning… from Friday evening till Sunday afternoon, I was as free as a bird pretending I was discovering new continents and living adventurous life.

For the first time in many many years, I put on my running shoes and went running in this neighborhood. And for the first time, V was joining me. As we wanted to spend all the time with my mom, we managed to run just 2 short trails (9 and 5 km) but both were definitely worth it. I am not a child anymore but as I was following the ‘secret paths’ I used to discover here decades ago, I felt like one again. It was a great feeling and my running definitely added to it.