Standing at the Trailhead of Winter

I conquered my fear of running alone in a strange city. At 6:15 this morning, with the sun just beginning to peek over the hills that surround the city, I set off, taking the route mentioned to me yesterday. I found the bike path without a problem and ran along the river and over to the minor league baseball stadium and beyond, to where the path went into another part of the city. There I turned around and headed back. When I returned, I mapped it to see how far I'd gone. Turns out I ran a 5k. And it actually felt good. If only the 5k from last weekend had felt as good. I'll go out again in the morning. The route is pretty, at least along the river. The first three quarters of a mile are not so scenic, just sidewalk along a busy street and industrial buildings. But I feel like I really accomplished something by facing this fear while at the same time working on my running. Tomorrow I'll face something else that scares me. I haven't quite figured out yet exactly what tha...

This week I'm away from home again. I'm realizing I don't like being away from home anymore. I want to be where my family is, and that is definitely not where I am right now. Though there are times I really need a break from all the activities we're a part of, I've come to the conclusion that just closing the door to my bedroom for an hour or two is all the break I need. But for the next five days, I'm in a strange city for a conference. The upside is the conference is all about sports literature, and if today is any indication about what's to come, it'll be good. Lots of fun people. One individual came from Paris and is quite interesting to talk with. Another came from Australia though he is originally from Scotland, and the Scottish brogue is delightful to listen to. He's one energetic guy, too. Though I wasn't able to run today, I did learn of a route that should be good to take. It goes along the river and into the city proper, so the landsca...