Yesterday after work, my husband agreed to come with me on a 5K trail run at Mundy Park. I realized how nervous I was about falling again, which prompted a slower run than usual. It was so nice of him to come with me! It was great to get back to the woods. Mundy Park trails are not as dangerous as some of the trails I’ve been running on–just a few rocks jutting out here and there, so I was more focused on watching where I was going and picking my knees up.
Now that the days are getting shorter, by the time we got to the park, the sun was low in the sky, and by the time we got home it was purely dusk, with night coming quickly. Even though last night it was still warm, and we needed a shower later, we are also getting to the end of our hottest weather. The upcoming days are going to be very pleasant and cool, not even hitting 20C, starting tomorrow. And we’re forecast to get some sweet rain. Also, because of the stressed trees, so many leaves are on the ground in certain forests. It is really starting to feel like fall.
It just felt so good to be back with my old friend, Mundy Park, the dark, green and cool sanctuary. I haven’t gone as often as I would have liked to lately. Weekends have been filled with recuperation from falls, camping, hiking, or editing. I’ve also been planning a big ecofiction stage at Word on the Street, for next month, which I’ll talk about soon. And I have some interviews with best-selling authors, one of which should be up soon.
So it feels very good to get out in the forest. I do have more trepidation when running. I read up on trail runners who fall, and it seems all do at some point or another. But I clearly need continued strengthening and balance. My goal for the upcoming months is to beat my record for the 10K in October and to stop falling!