Vacation!

Sitting on the deck sipping coffee and watching birds at the feeder while I write this. After a couple of hot days, this morning's air is fresh and cool - like early fall. It's day #3 and I still haven't fully relaxed into vacation mode - despite plenty of good food and wine. It's hard when there's so much I could/should be doing, but I'm determined to rest as much as possible - when I'm not marathon training, that is.

My training goals for the next few weeks are to run 5 times per week and do yoga daily in an effort to kick my marathon preparation up a notch. So far, the running's going okay but I haven't started the yoga routine yet and I'm not sure I will today either because I took a fall while running with my buddy David yesterday. I went down relatively gently but still managed to scrape one elbow rather badly and my shoulders, arms, and hands are sore from the impact. I don't think they'll be up to doing downward dogs for a few days. I'm luck to have gotten off so lightly since it really could have been much worse. I know people who've broken arms and gotten concussions as a result of similar falls.

David and I were nearly18k into our run yesterday when I fell. We'd planned to do 22-24k but it was 28C in the shade and humid by the time we hit 20k and my arm hurt so we called it a day. Despite everything, I enjoyed the run. David's good company and the route was gorgeous - from his house in Prince's Inlet, along a shaded trail to Lunenburg, around a loop that took us to Carter's Beach and back.  We didn't stop to take many photos so you'll have to take my word for it, but here's a sample.

Husband and I plan to stay close to the country house for much of our vacation but hope to make quick trips to the Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton to see a few friends as well. Once I've a little more energy, I'd also like to spend time with my camera. I'm determined to get a few decent shots of the birds at our feeder. They're fun to watch but move so quickly it's hard to capture crisp images. So far this summer, we've spotted woodpeckers, jays, sparrows, nuthatches, chickadees, doves, and goldfinches - in addition to the robins, ravens and eagles that visit our yard regularly. 

My other major project for this vacation is to start planning my (semi-) retirement. Husband and I have been batting around options for awhile and the time has come to make some decisions so we can start moving in our chosen direction. More on that when we've concluded negotiations. :-)

Hope you and yours are enjoying these last few weeks of summer!