This morning I awoke to a cacophonous rain outside, wiping away our recent sun and flattening the leaves and pine needles onto the wood of the back deck. I stared at the rain dropping and making tiny puddles and then other drops splashing into those puddles. I felt longing, knowing I had to get out and run but not necessarily feeling like it just yet, not first thing in the morning. The rain was just so loud and meaningful. It sounded cold but something I knew I wanted to get out in.
After my morning wake-up routine, I asked Morgan if he wanted to go with me to Mundy Park and do a 5K around Perimeter Trail. Without the heat of the recent days, cool running is fraught with so much more energy, but I was downright cold the whole time–and it did feel good. The steeper hills are always a battle, but we beat our last run there by over a minute and a half per mile and I got a personal best on a portion of the run, going down to 8 something per mile, which is really good for me. But I won’t brag too much because I had to walk some of that 300 feet of elevation. It took me a long time to warm up after getting home. We were so wet and filthy! My shoes and pants were covered with wet dirt and gravel. I have a 10K in just over a month though, so I need to up it some on the next few weekends.
Tonight I poured a carafe of red wine and am going to work on my newest novel. I really like where it’s going, but I don’t think it’ll be everyone’s cup of tea. I never seem to be able to write something mainstream or even niche-popular that would appeal to many people. My interests are kind of out there. The novel is definitely weird, ecologically horrifying to some extent, and a big mystery, even to me who is writing it. I have a rough outline but also like to see what happens as I’m writing. As the story unfolds, I am often surprised.
Sometimes during the day I read back on what I’ve written recently and I will think on it and maybe only revise a few things or add a couple sentences. But tonight it is time to really try to finish out Chapter 4 and maybe go further if I don’t get too tired. I’m going to share this photo as inspiration and a real scene in the book.
Meanwhile, the rain promises to continue after a late break and an orange cloud in the west surrounded by gray.
