This week was the first of the year where we had rehearsal on a regular basis which means my days have gotten longer. I usually get to work around 7 and, with rehearsal on the calendar I don’t leave until 5:45 or so. I’m actually excited about the process on this one, it should be a lot of fun and the students have enjoyed jumping in to the music already.

I ran a pretty hard in the early part of the week, 10k on Monday along the Old Alton trail and then 4.5 miles on Tuesday (2 miles to and from Oak Street and 2.5 with Lauren) and 5 on Wednesday. I’ve been trying to push speed a bit, especially on Wednesday when I ran a couple of miles before the social run with Anuj. I’ve know Anuj for a few years, first time I saw him was at the free race up in Oklahoma. I remember how cold it was that day, I ended up just running the half because the trail was ugly and my hands were so cold. I think Anuj finished an hour ahead of David and I because, well, because he is fast. Well, on Wednesday we ran quite a bit of our mileage sub 8 minute pace which is pretty quick for me. I ended up with an 8:23 average for the 5k, again pretty quick for me. I’ll try to get some miles Sunday morning before the kids wake up and want breakfast.

It’s funny, and probably something everyone who is going through something heavy can attest to, that the busier you are the easier it is to just get into a flow and stop taking the time for self care. On top of running, my writing, music and climbing have become part of my routine and I finally got back on the wall again on Monday and Tuesday. It felt great to head back in and make some progress on a few tougher beginner routes that I’ve been projecting, especially because I ran into Josh and Kaley while I was waiting for Autumn to roll through. We had a good climb and I think that since my daughter is spending the night with a friend I’ll take my son up there tomorrow after we time the Race for Hope at Southlakes.

John has been putting this race on for a few years, he works with the LOSS team at MHMR here in Denton and they raise money for suicide prevention and family services for those who’ve had a loved one die through suicide. We started talking last winter about a bigger club presence because of how Zach died and I know they are going to do a minute silence or something at the race to honor his memory. I ended up working the race this year, the same race that I talked to Kyle about timing a year ago. Sam and I are going to get up early and head to the park to support this effort and then probably go climb for a little while, as long as he will hang with it.

Tonight, I picked up Sam and came back to the house. We hung out for a bit until my dad came over and we decided to walk to dinner. This is a first. It was hot but not too hot to make the trek down to Juicy Pig. I’ve been mostly not eating meat but since we made the walk we decided to split something. Sam wasn’t sure about the mac’n’cheese since it was smoked and had a bit more spice than he wanted. We hung there for a bit and then walked down to Golden Boy for dessert and a cocktail (well, for me at least). Autumn was guesting behind the bar and Sarah was there too so it was really nice that we made the walk to see friends. They were getting ready to kick off a hip hop show and Sam wanted to stay but I could tell my dad was starting to fade. We walked back to the house, probably a mile and a half with all the stops along the way.

I can’t tell you how nice it was to walk around my neighborhood and support local businesses and friends along the way. Life is pretty full right now, I’m making progress and feel more connected to my self in positive ways this time. It’s still a busy weekend ahead but it will be mine.