running, water and too many kids

So I got a long run in this morning...well long for me (like 75 minutes) although after reading some of the other blogs out there with everyone training IM distance it felt trivial. But anyhow, it was a good run.

Since we've moved, the runs are on long, rolling hills in the country. So nice. I passed 3 or 4 horse farms, tons of cyclists and very few cars. I got "greeted" by 2 dogs twice, as I was running out and back but fortunately they stopped running after me once they realized I wasn't stopping at their drive way. But I have to say the best thing about this run was just being able to "be". I kept thinking about things from this week that made me happy and just couldn't help but smile during the run and it made things go by so quickly.

1. back to Tuesday night's track session from hell. I think I was not focused at all...so maybe that's why I couldn't hold a pace to save my life. The reason for my lack of focus, a little boy playing in the sprinklers that were watering the field inside the track. He was waiting for his dad to finish the track work out. At the start of my second mile I just head this loud "thud thud splish ssssssppppt." So I looked over and this kid had gotten about 6 inches away from one of the sprinklers and squatted his butt in front of the stream of water. It was so funny. He kept jumping around as it would turn trying to keep his butt in the water. He was soaked through. It just made me want to forget the running and go play. I kept thinking about when I was young and we had the "fan like" sprinklers that looked like an arch of water. We'd play games to see who could make it from point A to point B before the water hit them.

2. Thursday night as I sat on the trainer in the garage at 6:30 to start my bike session, the family across the street (with 9 kids) came into the cul-de-sac to play baseball. They do this frequently. They didn't have enough this night...only 3 per side. the other 3 were riding skate boards. So I heard one of them yell "Ghost man on third". Oh man! I remember that more vividly than the sprinkler playing. The youngest little girl was wearing a hot pink sun dress with fuchsia, light pink and yellow flower prints, no shoes, and her bright blond hair was a tangled mess. It was like staring in a mirror of a younger me. To swing the bat for her took an act of God, she was only 4 or 5 at most. But she could run like the dickens. They were playing with a tennis ball and had to throw it at the runners and hit them to get them out. I wanted to go out there and call "I'll be the all time pitcher" Loved watching them.

3. Still on Thursday night, one of the oldest boys got out this little motorcycle. It looked like it was built for a 3 year old it was so small. He started riding it up and down the road. One of the sister's skate boarding wanted to ride, so she climbed on back. Just then I heard their mom yell "NO! Get off of the back of that, there's not room for two. You going to get hurt." This mother is all of 5ft.2 and probably no more than 110 pounds soaking wet. Hard to believe 9 kids came out of that body. I digress. So the daughter gets off, the mother comes over and makes the brother get off, takes the helmet and then proceeds to put the helmet on and take the motorcycle for a ride herself! Nice I thought. Look at her enjoying it and having fun with her kids. She was laughing and running with them....being a kid herself.

So all these things were going through my mind again on my "long" run this morning. What I wouldn't give to be a child again. No worries, no fears, no boundaries, no expectations, no guilt, no shame only fun, food, friends, skate boards, ghost men on third and water in your butt.