More rambling.

Thank you to all who sent birthday wishes, cards and/or packages.  This includes Mom and Dad, Gramma/Grampa D., Grandma B. (who sends a whole cake!),  and Uncle Roger and Aunt Darla.  All lovingly received, and this time no problems with the post office or with incorrect addresses.  Little brother Sam asked "So do you feel and wiser?"  If you ask in terms of physical therapy then yes!  But in terms of life, well, I often still feel a mere sixteen year old.  Anyways, I may not be enthusiastic about celebrating my birthday, but I think of you all often and appreciate all your well wishes.

Nathan is running the Finger Lakes 50k today in the Syracuse area of upstate New York.  It is less hilly and rocky than Bear Mountain, so his time should improve so long as his left ankle behaves.  He twisted it once or twice during Bear Mountain without more than a grade I sprain, but the two months since then have been much more lackluster than he'd have hoped.  Nathan is originally from Auburn, NY, and his mom and older sister still live there.  Kind of fun that his mom gets to see him run today, just like my ma and pa will get to see me run in August.  The race sounds beautiful, two laps around the lake to total 31 miles.  My guess for him is 5 hours 45 minutes should his ankle hold out, or 6 hours 30 minutes if it acts up.  At the time of this post add-on, he'll have been out there for 3 hours 15 minutes.  Too bad this race doesn't have any live updates.  But then again, I think having less pressure with a lower profile race will be good for him.  Just keep moving! 

One running blog I follow is that of James Adams, the lone Brit and one of few english speakers from the Los Angeles to New York Footrace that covers 3220 miles in 70 days.  A few days ago they finally left the desert of Nevada and entered semi-mountainous areas of northern Arizona.  I'm not particularly interested in running a race such as this, but I do find their efforts inspiring.  They are also in a part of the country which has peaked my interest for life after school.  Not that they are running through lots of areas -- they stick to highways/roads that are not major interstates but still travel rather straight.  Were they to weave back and forth around mountains in Utah and Colorado then an appreciable amount of miles would be added to the task.  I'm eager to hear reports of New Mexico. 

As for my own running, my body has finally figured out how to regulate summer temperatures, including when I run in the morning.  I sweat like I got caught in the rain, sometimes as if it were raining on me and only me, but I no longer suffer from an invisible wool onesie.  The main obstacle I have now is common for me during summers -- developing a genuine desire to eat.  My body shuts off its desire for more food after two meals, regardless of when those meals are had.  I could eat breakfast of one serving of oatmeal (1/2 cup dry) with some fruit and honey at 5:00 am, and by my lunch break at 12:00 or 1:00 pm a sandwich sounds too heavy and unappealing so I'll opt for yogurt, dry cereal, and a deli container of watermelon.  Weird.  Then when I get home at 6:00, I'll only muster the stomach want for something like sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with a little salt and olive oil drizzled over top.  Double weird.  Ice cream still has its full place, probably because it is cold and my running mileage wants the fat and the calories.  I've made myself eat more during lunch and dinner the last few days because I know I cannot operate on so little food.  Once I start eating then things are fine, its just getting my body to admit that it is hungry that's the problem.  There's some disconnect between brain and stomach stemming from a reliance on too large a proportion of simple sugars (hello, ice cream!) during the stressful spring semester.  My body doesn't want those foods now that its summer and hot, so it just says "no food please" because it forgets what other good stuff could be had.  Last night was successful with a full dinner of grilled veggie club sandwich, green salad with basil vinegarette and baked 4 cheese macaroni from a local home-style place named Kitchenette. 

[My roommates just got up, and Mike, the med student, brought his study materials to the living room to read while having his coffee.  Two minutes after sitting down he started to pet Sadie, only for his eyes to shut with his hand resting on her belly.  Super cute.]

Thinking back again to New Mexico, I know that next summer is a year away, and yet I can already sense change.  One year from today is the first opportunity I'll have to take the Boards.  I'll be looking for a job in a new state.  And I'm trying to come to terms with needing to get a vehicle again.  I want to live within 4-6 miles of work and lives necessities, and ideally just as close (if not closer) to local trails.  Ideal?  Yes.  Realistic?  We'll see, but I think the distance from work part is feasible.  Mainly I want a reduced reliance on a car and continued use of walking/riding to commute.  Were I intending to stay in NYC then I'd want something small and nimble like the Mini Cooper but more realistic, probably Volvo-like model with actual ability to carry more than just the driver and one passenger.  Something similar would likely suite Seattle, but that depends on the types of excursions I foresee.  I'm thinking of my intent to live near the mountains when I say this.  And if I land in Colorado then I'd need four wheel drive.  I am also looking forward to owning my own washer and dryer, having a gear room for my bikes and outdoor stuff, and having windows all around the house.  A house!  Oh my.  Simmer down, self, a year is a long time off.  And yet it isn't....

Thursday's morning run was hill repeats with a hippie soundtrack, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros' "Jangling."  One of the aides at the clinic started off Wednesday with hipsters before pulling out Jock Jamz once patients arrived.  I forget her name, but woman wearing the gray tee shirt in front cracks me up every time.