Once again- it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.  My psyche pinched me awake, “time to go running!”  I opened my eyes and stared in disbelief at my phone.  It was already after 8am and I had 6 miles to log before a day of family fun could begin.  If yesterday’s high altitude experience was any indicator, today’s run was going to completely suck.

As I swigged coffee and dressed, my mood failed to improve.  My considerate husband again volunteered to accompany me, once he finished making pancakes for our kids.  Since there wasn’t time for us to eat and digest, off we went with only coffee and last night’s beer and s’mores to fuel us.

We decided to take it off road for a change since CMB and I both love trail running.  Unfortunately, my Garmin proved to be as disagreeable as I felt- the pink POS refused to pick up a signal.  I had to switch from GPS mode to the stopwatch which made me even angrier.  We would have to run for time rather than mileage which is not OK when you’re following a training plan.

I growled in frustration as we passed the trailhead and began to run uphill, of course.  I  stopped to walk at a particularly steep incline and actually snarled at my husband when he paused to check on me.  CMB didn’t skip a beat.  I suppose he’s used to such misbehavior on my part.  He even said something about being happy to have this time with me, even though it was challenging.  I wonder, was he talking about the course or me?

Somehow CMB’s unyielding patience guided me back to reality.  Together we plodded up the cantankerous trail and were met by another genial view.  I went from feeling like the World’s Biggest Bitch Grouch to Donner Lake’s Most Contented Visitor, all in the span of 47 minutes.  What a trip.