running & dementia.

so today, after a 16 month dry spell, amber & i ran a half marathon.

like so many things we agree to do together, one calls or texts the other and says how about this wild idea and the other always agrees.

{expect for that shopping fast she's on-i must keep amazon in business}

and the race we signed up for was seriously 14 minutes from home.

that means we didn't leave home till 6:45 & were tearing up the course at 7:31.

confession:  i have a furious competitive streak when it comes to running.

not against the other crazies running ahead of me but against myself.

i want every race to be a "personal record", 

and define myself as a runner based on my finishing time.

i know it sounds lame, but i am just being a teensy vulnerable.

today was purposely different.

i had made a decision when am & i signed up.

she has walked this "demented" path with me since moving pjm {actually before that}.

i promised myself to run this 13.1 miles with her & to hang the "PR" thang on the self-absorbed shelf.

pre race glam shot...notice those hot air balloons in the background?
wine & balloons.  that's what our town in known for.

sitting on the couch with sore legs & a bloated tummy from bad "post-race" breakfast choice,

i have learned running a half-marathon & dementia have parallels.

half-marathons & dementia are best with a lovie at your side.

half-marathons {especially in our small town} & dementia have lots of twists, turns and paths that few other people will traveled.

{we were on dirt roads at least 75% of the time}

half-marathons & dementia have peaks making you questions your strength to reach the top

& downhills so steep you fear you will lose your footing.

half-marathons & dementia feel exhausting,

but there are friends cheering you on confident you can finish.

dear ams.

thanks for another #teamamazing event today.

i loved running at your side & finishing with you at mine.

mostly though,

thanks for teaching me it is comforting to travel the hard paths of life with a lovie, 

reminding me we can do hard things...together.

and the art of the "selfie".  don't we look good running?

 what the hell are you trying to catch in that gullet of yours?

dad would often tell me to "stop & smell the roses" when i pushed workouts.

while it wasn't "roses" we stopped for,

spartacus was the course highlight.

doesn't he look like he's smiling-i think YES!

probably because he took a dumper doodle just before the photo.

yep, this adult just called horse shit "dumper doodle".

love & thanks ams for teaching me to live-love-finish hard things together,

especially when it means placing self absorbed on the shelf.

hope your ass is as half as sore as mine.

see you at the gym in the AM.

mama "sore legs" bird