Celebratory Fireworks

Posted on July 4, 2011 | 5 comments

I love fireworks. They inspire a certain little-kid sense of awe and wonder, as I look skyward and drink in the symmetry and precisely vivid colors and patterns.

As I write, I’m watching out my living room window as fireworks explode down the street and behind the Elgin Tower. Every year, people start celebrating with their large stash of (illegal) fireworks about a week before Independence Day, which means I often get a preview for my late-June birthday.

And indeed, a week ago, on my thirtieth birthday, I got home from work and school, discovered a cupcake on my doorstep, and watched some fireworks from across the river. Every night this week, there have been more and more, a crescendo of colors and lights and sounds popping above trees and buildings all around me. (Sadly, some of the best displays off to the east are now blocked by the thickening grove of trees across the street.)

Last winter, as part of the Reverb10 project, I had thought about advice for the year ahead, told from a vantage point of five years in the future. In the process, I had discovered the FutureMe site, which allows you to write an email to yourself to be delivered at a future date.

I received my FutureMe note on the morning of my birthday, and read it with a smile. Some of the advice has been heeded, dead-on. It was full of good reminders of what’s important, and also how fleeting and trivial some concerns can be. I even found myself rolling my eyes at one point. But it was really interesting, and reassuring, a sort of progress report on where I am, where I’ve been, and where I’m going. I highly, highly recommend it, and I’ll be sitting down and writing a letter for my next birthday in the next couple of days. (The site will let you select a date up to 50 years in the future, though I wonder if my Gmail address will still be active then.) I may write five and ten year iterations, too.

But back to the fireworks. I feel like we all need to take a moment for ourselves, and fireworks are such a great way to do that. I’m at the tail end of a divine four day weekend, full of friends old and new, miles of walking around my adopted hometown, ice cream, beer, late-night tacos and hot dogs, barbecues, staying up too late and sleeping long past sunrise.  I spent the evening in the backyard, reading for pleasure, sipping iced tea and ducking the mulberries the squirrels shook loose, watching the fireflies come out as the sun set.

My feet are blistered and I’m sunburned and mosquito-bitten, but happy.  So happy.  Even if twelve short hours from now I’ll likely be on my third conference call for the day.

That’s why we do what we do. We work to live, to make these moments possible. So here’s to celebrating our American way of working hard while carving out a balanced, full life. And I can’t think of a better way to celebrate than smuggling fireworks across state lines and blowing them up in a cacophony of war-zone pyrotechnics that have the ability to make us pause and draw inspiration.

Happy Independence Day.

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Greens, Greens, Greens! My First CSA Produce

Posted on June 15, 2011 | 6 comments

Midway through last summer, I discovered that some lucky people get boxes of produce delivered to them every week. These Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) boxes include a variety of whatever is at the peak of freshness. And buying a “share” at the beginning of the season helps the farmers by ensuring they’ll have enough income to work throughout the year.

It really sounded like a win-win situation. Supporting local farmers, buying locally AND getting the freshest veggies? Sign me up! I’ve always made frequent stops at farmers’ markets, from Chicago’s Daley Plaza, Elgin’s Downtown Harvest Market, or my own local Klein’s Farm Stand. But the during-the-week markets can be tough to get to. (In the case of Daley Plaza, it’s a truly fantastic market – the mind reels with possibility – but it’s tricky transporting delicate produce home via train.)

Over the winter, I discovered Trogg’s Hollow, a very, very local farm. Their field is barely a mile from my house, in the midst of an older neighborhood like mine. They were sold out of shares by the time I found them, but then a neighbor got in from the waiting list. The shares are designed for four people, so she offered to share her share with me. Serendipity!

After a cool spring, I finally got my first batch of produce: lots of lettuce, spinach, a radish and beet greens.

So how to use those veggies?

Part of the reason I signed up was I wanted to branch out beyond what I usually buy and cook. It’s easy to get in the trap of buying the same things every week. For me, it’s usually a bunch of spinach, a couple of bell peppers, onions, tomatoes and whatever a recipe requires. (On the fruit side, it tends to vary more, based on what’s on sale and in season.)

The lettuce and spinach are easy. As soon as I got home with my bag of veggies, I made a giant salad, and I’ll have several more over the coming days. I also add spinach to scrambled eggs.

I had just found a recipe for spicy stir-fried eggplant and beef that called for radish greens, something I had never  considered existing. But suddenly, I had some in my fridge, so I made the recipe last Thursday. (And wow, was it fantastic!) I ate the radish itself while I made dinner. (For some reason, radishes always make me think of Fraggle Rock.)

The beet greens posed a bit more challenge. My cooking guru, Jenn, suggested sauteeing them with garlic and onions, and the Trogg’s Hollow newsletter suggested a similar treatment. Easy-peasy. But tonight’s dinner was a clean-out-the-fridge type meal, so I managed to work the greens into a skillet of Italian sausage, new potatoes, bell peppers, onions and garlic. I added some fresh parmesan – divine.

And just in time, as I’ll get my second share tomorrow.

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At Last, Summer

Posted on June 14, 2011 | 2 comments

It finally feels like summer. Sure, I may need a hoodie, and it’s too cold to leave the windows wide open, but tonight I reprised one of my favorite summer activities: the Tuesday night concerts at Wing Park.

Every Tuesday night, a different band plays at the Wing Park Bandshell. A group of neighborhood folks stakes a claim on the lawn, bringing snacks and treats and bottles filled with “magic water” or “kool-aid.” I bike over – it’s about three miles each way – with a blanket and snacks in my backpack.

We listen to music, but it’s not about the music. Tonight, one of my favorite local bands, Seventh Heaven, played a very laid-back set, perfect for the crowd. Kids play, running around, blowing bubbles, and dancing to the music. Some people bring fast food –  I smelled pizza and fried chicken tonight – and others pack picnics. My group usually brings some combination of cheese, crackers, fruit and something sweet.

We chat and visit and just enjoy being outdoors. Sometimes it’s very hot for the first few songs until the sun dips behind the trees, but that wasn’t an issue tonight, as I pulled out my hoodie and zipped it against the chill.

And then, when it’s over and the band says good night, everyone packs up and hugs and vows to return next week. As the cars line up to get out of the lot, I glide past them on my bike, zig-zagging through quiet neighborhood streets as the streetlights come on and the fireflies lazily flicker my path home. The chill feels good.  Night riding is such a treat, unimaginable 8 months of the year. I feel free and swift and content with the world.

Tonight, as the moon rose higher in the sky and I coasted home, REM popped to mind.

I went to an Iron and Wine concert last week in Chicago’s Millennium Park , and it was a completely different experience. Overly crowded, with battles over turf, and the crowd was louder than the music. It made me appreciate my Wing Park crowd even more.

We’ve fought through a cold, wet spring, but I’m so glad it’s summer.

What’s your favorite summer tradition?

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Posted in Elgin

Ready for Demo: The Bathroom Project Finally Begins

Posted on June 12, 2011 | 4 comments

I’ve wanted to re-do the main bathroom since I first saw this house. The plastic tiles on the wall are ugly, the “pedestal” sink has rusted metal legs and lacks storage, and the mini-size bathtub is too short to allow for an actual bath. And don’t get me started on the Hollywood Barbie light fixture!

So much ugliness

But an old house has all kinds of fun limitations as far as sizes and walls. The ceiling slopes with the roofline, so I didn’t even notice that the tub was miniature (4 feet, compared to the standard 5 feet)  until the first time I tried to take a bath and my knees stuck up in the cold, cold air.  But the water for the tub is run in the wall that creates a strange little dead space around the window. I can’t fit a standard 5 foot tub in that space without running into the window – and the room isn’t long enough the other way, either.

My dad suggested a corner tub, but my research found that most of those are at least 5×5. Except for one. Menards carries a 4×4 ft corner tub (with a hypotenuse of 4 √2 – just long enough for a proper leg stretch, as I tested in the store). Just after Christmas, it went on sale, so it’s been sitting in my parents’ garage since mid-February. We’ll destroy that wall entirely, which should open up the room greatly. Since you can’t put plumbing in an exterior wall in northern Illinois (at least, not in an old, under-insulated house), we’ll leave the shower plumbing external, which was pretty common in old houses. It should look really nice. And the rest of the room will have so much light!

I had to replace the window before I could begin. The old window leaked terribly – not what you want in a bathroom – and never stayed up without a prop. I ordered windows in January, and they were installed in mid-March.

The color matched perfectly, and the "euro-style" sink would have let me get away with a skinnier vanity but a full-sized sink: ideal in a small room

Once the quarter ended, I finally had time to think straight. I had been looking for a vanity off and on ever since January, and seen a couple of styles I liked. I really wanted to match the character of the house, and the honey-cherry shade of wood prevalent throughout my house. I have a large built-in linen closet across the hall from the bathroom, and I wanted to mirror it if at all possible.  I really liked one I saw at Home Plus Outlet in April, but it was a bit too wide.  (You can see above how the wall indents about two inches – since the walls are solid, I’m assuming that’s how previous owners were able to add electric and plumbing, since my house was built before either of those novelties were common.) My dad and I examined the wall and determined that yes, we could build up the wall and make the vanity fit, but by that time, it was no longer for sale. The same thing happened several more times. Every time I would find one I liked that would match, I would discover that it was no longer being made and didn’t exist, except in dead listings on websites for the three Big Boxes.

Finally, I found one that, while nonexistent in every Home Depot near me, was still in stock (albeit discontinued) at a couple of HDs in Chicago proper. Since I was heading into the city for brunch today anyway, I could pick it up, and it would fit in the new car. So I did, thankful I bought a car with cargo space.

I may swap out the hardware, but the color and Mission styling fit pretty well. And drawers!

On my dad’s advice, I carefully measured everything in the room and am making a scale model on graph paper, including every water  spout, vent and more. I had a momentary panic when I realized that the new vanity (with a real cabinet! And storage!) would block my only outlet, but Dad pointed out that the existing outlet is against code and needs to be several feet higher, anyway, so we’ll move it when we tear open the wall.

Not visible: the rust stains on the "legs" of the monstrosity.

And really, having storage and wood will be so much nicer than this “pedestal” sink.

A plumber is coming this week to give me an estimate on replacing the bathtub, as it will entail moving some pipes. Once that gets rolling, my dad and I can do the rest – hopefully with a minimum of shower-less days. I’ve been looking at toilets, faucets, light fixtures and tile –  I can’t wait to get started!

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The Sweaty Fox Trot

Posted on June 10, 2011 | 2 comments

I’ve finally been running long enough that I’m repeating races!

My very first race last year was the Elgin Fox Trot, and I treasure the experience. This year, it was nearly an afterthought. I had registered plenty early, but then got busy with school and the crazy two half marathons. Suddenly, it was the end of May, even if it didn’t feel like it.

It was such a cool spring, too, that I didn’t have a single run under my belt where it was over 70 degrees. But the night before the Fox Trot, after a day of heavy storms, the temperature began to rise, trapping the humidity.

By the time I left for the race, at 7 AM, it was nearly 80 degrees with 93% humidity. I slathered on the sunscreen, grabbed my sunglasses (as my friend Brady learned, you can burn your eyes!) and set off.

I love having a race so close to home that I can walk to the start line, though it does complicate things a bit. I had to wear my annoying belt that bounces as I run, even though it had only my phone, ID, housekey and a few dollars inside.

The race was hot and sticky, and I quickly realized how unprepared I am for hot weather running. Of course, I started too quickly – damn adrenaline – and ran the first half mile at about an 8:00 pace, effectively cooking my lungs as we ran up the Chicago Street hill. By the time we turned onto the shady residential section of the course, I was thankful for the water station at mile 1. And again for the Near West Neighbors-sponsored station at mile 2.

I ran the entire thing, save for grabbing water, but it was not an easy run. My legs felt strong, but my lungs fought me as my allergies flared up. The last mile along Douglas Avenue – a slow, gradual downhill grade mostly shaded by grand, old trees – should have been easy, but the strong breeze was blowing southerly hot air straight at us.

So I finished just slightly worse than last year’s time. But I’m pleased, given the day and my preparation. I had a blast. Hanging out with friends afterwards,  it was downright pleasant sipping beer in the shade.

Too soon, I had to head home, grabbing an iced latte from Domani on the way, ready to face the Statistics exam that had been at the back of my mind all day. After a shower and lunch, I settled in for a long, frustrating afternoon, staring wistfully outside at the sunshine. When I finally finished (or rather, realized that staring at it longer wouldn’t help), I did get back outside, but only to mow the lawn.

It’s amazing how productive you feel on a day that starts with a race.

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Surfacing

Posted on June 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

I’m on summer vacation! Well, I still have to work, but I have two weeks – two glorious weeks – before classes start again. (I’m very glad I pushed through and got my last final – which wasn’t due until tomorrow – done on Sunday.)

Every time I’ve had a break from school, I’ve felt the same elation, the same thrill.

Don’t get me wrong. I adore school. I love the program. I love what I’m learning. I love my classmates and the professors and the readings and even the assignments. They’ve completely shifted how I see my job, my career – and the world.

But there’s still a shiver of glee that runs up my spine when I face two weeks – two full weeks! – where my life is my own again. (Well, except for that pesky “work” thing.) I think I appreciate the break even more because it is so short. I want to soak up every last second of potential.

When I’m in the throes of school, I sometimes feel like I’m underwater, just treading water, trying to keep up and balance work, school, SWAN and other commitments, all while trying to still see my friends and have a life. But I remind myself that a life, however busy, is still a life, and far better than boredom and monotony.

Winter quarter was brutal – dark and cold and bitter, with a double whammy of Stats and Finance, plus a blizzard for good measure. This quarter – Stats 2 and “Strategic Process,” which is essentially applied statistics – was rough, too, with math coming at me from both sides.

But now I’m surfacing, inhaling the fresh air, waking up before the alarm to sneak in a run or – gasp – read for leisure. Monday night I went to an ill-fated Iron & Wine concert at Millennium Park (far too crowded – I couldn’t hear the music over the chatter of the crowds). Last night, I pedaled to Gail Borden for a bag full of books of my choosing, then biked farther down the Fox River Trail, towards South Elgin, disappearing into the quiet and peace where you forget you’re in a town of 108,000. Tonight, I had dinner and fantastic conversation with friends, and came home to devour a book.

And the cooking? Oh, the cooking. It’s fabulous. Dancing and singing in the kitchen, playing with eggplant, chard, papaya, fennel, cubanelle peppers… and I get my very first CSA share tomorrow.

Sure, there are real catch-up projects I need to tackle. I really need to do some heavy-duty cleaning, and I hope to get a good handle on the bathroom project before classes start again.

I’m really enjoying catching up on life, though.

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Another Brick in the Wall

Posted on May 23, 2011 | 4 comments

Since my house is perched on a hill, the yard slopes down towards the street, creating a three-foot drop from my front yard to the sidewalk. A previous owner built a retaining wall, which adds a nice little touch to the front of the house.

However, the wall builder merely stacked the bricks, with no form of adhesive. As a result, years of freeze/thaw cycles and rain had pushed the wall forward several inches, leaving it leaning precariously over the sidewalk. It wasn’t in any imminent danger of falling, but eventually, it will. And kids tend to jump up on the wall and use it as a balance beam, which makes me nervous.

Before: note the "missing teeth" and the general jumbledness. I should have taken a picture of the side view to really show the tilt.

Plus, people steal the loose bricks. In my first four years here, four or five bricks were taken from the end of the wall. This spring, though, four more have disappeared, including two in a 24 hour period (one of which was in broad daylight, as I worked from home). Who steals landscape bricks that retail for 88 cents? My neighbors had some plants stolen, so we wonder if someone further down the street is assembling a garden out of “found” items.

So this weekend, my parents came over and helped me rebuild the wall.

I bought several new bricks to replace the missing ones, plus my parents happened on a rebate that enabled them to buy the 12 tubes of landscape glue for free. When my parents arrived early Sunday morning, we surveyed the situation, then ran to Menards for pea gravel and anchors.

I had hoped for a nice, cool day since the front yard is in full sunshine, but alas, the rainy spring has limited our options, and I wanted to knock this out before we get further into hot weather. We worked quickly, especially since storms were forecast. (Luckily, the glue only requires 15 minutes to set.)

First, we removed all the old bricks – approximately 200 of them. Next, we leveled out the dirt, and leveled the hill vertically, rearranging dirt and marveling at how much the front of the yard jutted out. (I also yanked all the dandelions I could – removing the bricks exposed several 12″ taproots.) We poured 150 lbs of pea gravel to enable drainage, which should help prevent future shifting. Next, we carefully laid the foundational layer of bricks, leveling each one.

When it came time to glue on the next layer, my dad and I experimented with where to glue and how much to use. We finally determined that since the bricks “lock” and have a lip on the back, a bead of glue along the lip seemed to suffice.  Once we found the method, the gluing went quickly. My mom prepped the bricks, cleaning off all the loose dirt and debris (and so many bugs), my dad applied the glue, and I placed them as we all eyeballed things to make sure we were building a straight line.

Between the second and third layer, we inserted anchors: 36″ stakes driven into the side of the hill and glued into place between bricks. This should reinforce the wall and prevent future movement. (Take that, gravity!)

The original wall had four layers, but after three, when we stopped and looked, we decided we didn’t really need a fourth layer. In the past, that fourth layer had stood about 3″ higher than the grass level, making mowing difficult. Now, because we had built things up a bit and leveled everything, the third level is nearly flush with the grass line and looks great. If it bothers me after a couple of weeks, I could always add another layer – the process isn’t hard, and the initial foundational prep was the time-consuming part – but for now, I’m very pleased.

As we worked on the smaller section (the left side in the picture), it was the hottest part of the day, in the 80s with no shading clouds. My lovely neighbors brought over a pitcher of margaritas and chatted for a few minutes while we took a break. They’ve done a ton to improve their home – the house was actually condemned when they bought it – and we talked about the crumbling, vacant $33,000 house on the other side of me. (Want to take a crack at it? It’s got a river view in the winter, so the land’s worth that! And I’m a great neighbor!)

After our break, clouds started rolling in, so we quickly finished up, including the Tetris of making the partial, curved bricks wrap around the sidewalk. We reset much of the dirt we had originally moved, and replanted the tufts of grass. I still need to add a couple of bricks on the other side of the sidewalk, but the sky was dark and we thought storms were imminent, so we cleaned up and called it a day. (The radar turned out to be wrong – the storm swung south of us, and it didn’t rain for another three hours. But eight hours of work was a long enough day.) I may need to plant some new grass, but I’ll give it a few days and see if the old tufts survive.

Afterwards, we sat in the cool house and sipped Coronas for a few minutes, trying to discern dirt from sunburn and reveling in exhaustion. Returning from dinner at the Public House, I smiled at sight of the new wall – it looks so good.

After: Nice and even. Now I just need the grass to re-grow.

This was my favorite kind of project: the kind that you can see every time you pass by. It was a very long day, but very much worth it. And hauling 12 lb bricks for eight hours is a heck of a workout.

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A Speedway and Some Bluster: A Tale of Two Halves

Posted on May 15, 2011 | 3 comments

Definitely a good hair day. In the parking garage afterwards, all smiles.

I ran my second half marathon in eight days today.

That’s insane on its own merits, but add in 30 mph winds and sideways rain, and it’s even crazier.

I ran the Indy Mini Half Marathon last weekend in Indianapolis with a bunch of friends. It was a great race: extraordinarily well organized, a wide variety of live music and cheer squads along the course, and a whole lot of fun. But it didn’t go not quite as planned, and my time of 2:36:19 left me wanting more. I had gone in with a goal of 2:25, but several factors conspired against that: four hours of fitful sleep, no caffeine, and hordes of walkers who had no intention of running a step and needed to be passed.

I know I ran my best, and my running partner Mark was fabulous – we ran the entire thing, minus the aid stations, and he kept me distracted with stories of French Revolution decapitations during the last mile when my calf was cramping. I had a great time and wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

But my time bugged me. As I wrote yesterday, numbers can be very motivating, to the point that we’ll do crazy things.

Tuesday night, on the train home, I had a thought: I knew there were three local half marathons this weekend. Why not sneak off to one, alone, and get the vindication I craved?

I emailed my friend Beth, who wholeheartedly endorsed my plan as she gave great advice about embracing the experience and everything happening for a reason. She also said, “Maybe Indy was meant to kick you in the ass and set off a spark to run more, try harder, and do another race.”

So I did.

I looked at the weather forecast, which predicted low 50s with a chance of rain. That’s exactly what had been forecast in Indy, and it had worked out fine: the temperature had been perfect, and the mist had started around mile 7 and grown into a full-fledged shower by mile 9, but I had barely noticed.

I talked to David, my running guru and colleague, and he enthusiastically supported the idea, giving me more encouragement. So Thursday afternoon, hours before the deadline, I signed up for the Chicagoland Spring Half Marathon in Schaumburg.

Last night, I left a friend’s house early to get to sleep. My stomach was in knots, and the rain woke me a couple of times. When the alarm went off at 5:30, I drew back the curtains, gingerly willing against rain as I opened my eyes.

The windchill was 34, with 30 mph winds and mist, but it wasn’t pouring. I thought about crawling back under the covers and just enjoying my race shirt, but I had told a couple people my plans, and knew they’d hold me accountable. Or at least ask about it.

So I dressed – short sleeve shirt with arm warmers (which I never removed), long pants, and my rain/wind jacket.

I’ll recap the race itself later, but suffice it to say, the last three miles were the most difficult I’ve ever run. We ran directly into the 30 mph northerly headwind, along the corporate wasteland that is Martingale Road (essentially a frontage road for 290), with nothing to block the wind as it blew rain sideways into our faces. There was nothing to look at and distract us, and my hamstrings and calf took turns cramping every few steps. It took every ounce of determination, every mantra I’ve ever heard, every squish of my water-filled shoes to push forward, nervously eying my Garmin as it ticked closer to my goal, eroding the early miles I ran too fast with the 2:15 pace group.

But I finished, at 2:24:30ish (by my Garmin), sprinting the last couple hundred feet to make sure. I couldn’t even balance on one leg to remove the timing chip strapped around my ankle. I hobbled slowly through the finisher’s area, collected my medal and banana, and wandered to my car.

It may have been ugly, but I’m so glad I dragged myself out of bed and over the finish line. Vindication is cold, wet and miserable, but oh-so-sweet.

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Motivating Numbers

Posted on May 14, 2011 | 3 comments

I’ve always liked tracking things. Numbers. Data. Change. Improvements.

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve likely seen me whining about Stats class the last five months. (Never fear, that’s ending in another few weeks!) But in reality, it’s been very interesting and has opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. (More on that in a later post.)

Since I became serious about my health two years ago, I have tracked everything to do with my workouts. I have spreadsheets for my strength training that list every weight used with respective reps and sets. I print off blank calendar pages every month so I can have an easy visual for when I work out – so if I notice too many blank days in a week or month I can push myself back into action.

And on DailyMile, I’ve found a whole community of like-minded numbers nerds, tracking every tenth of a mile.

Looks like he missed a couple of spots.

In fact, my DailyMile friend Mike recently posted this map of his most recent “run.” You see, Mike had finished his long run for the weekend and realized he was a mile shy of 60 for the week. Being so close to a milestone like that is enough to drive you crazy. So, at his wife’s suggestion, he strapped on his Garmin while mowing the lawn to get one more mile in, albeit at not nearly the same intensity of a run. (Though he did note his back yard pace was slower, as he had to pick up the kids’ toys.)

I do that, too. Before I run, I usually map out an approximate route so I know about how far I have to go to get in a five mile vs a nine mile run. But inevitably, variations occur, often to avoid traffic or red lights. (On hot sunny days, I’ll reroute to find shade.) If I get back to my house and I’m at .8 or .9 of a mile, I usually try to “top off” my mileage by taking a quick spin around the block, which is about a quarter mile.

Numbers are good because they keep us honest. I think that’s why I like DailyMile so much: it blends the hard data (“I ran x miles in y minutes for an average pace of z.”) with the more subjective (“My bikram instructor sounded like she was running an auction. Or perhaps hog calling.) Both pieces work together to motivate us, and to reward us when we hit the random thresholds we deem so important.

Of course, there is the downside: when you let a numeric goal get to you. But more on that in another post.

Do you find numbers motivational? Or do they play tricks with your head?

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Cruel, Cruel April

Posted on April 30, 2011 | Leave a comment

April really is the cruelest month. This month has been the grayest, dreariest, cloudiest and rainiest on record. Early in the month, we had a random 80 degree day, which offered up such hope for spring, but then we fell back into an ugly pattern  of rain, clouds, and melancholy, with the occasional rumble of thunder. We even had a couple days of snow – including some that stuck as late as  the 18th, which made my opening daffodils shrink back for a few days.

Yesterday and this morning, things were looking up, with sunshine and 60s. My 7 mile run mid-day was sunsoaked and created fresh tanlines along my arms, for the Garmin and RoadID. I even have tanlines in my elbows, which I suppose indicates my running form is good.

After my run, I dragged my patio table and chairs out of the garage, and set out to mow the lawn for the first time this year. All the rain has made it jungle-thick and vibrantly verdant, and the mower struggled through some of the especially thick spots. When I got done I saw on the steps with some water and closed my eyes, inhaling the intoxicating aroma of fresh-cut grass. It smelled like summer, like sunscreen and caramel-spiked iced coffee and sweat. The sun felt so nice on my face, and I was tempted to pull out the lawn chair and a book and go relax in the backyard.

But after a very windy day, with gusts over 45 mph, clouds are rolling in for another evening of storms. And April will go out as it began, dreary, gloomy and damp.

Despite the rain, I had my biggest running month ever, clocking 60 miles. (My previous record was 55 last September.) And the tulips and daffodils seem to be thriving. So while April has been cruel, all is not lost. Here’s to an even better May.

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