Scatter my ashes here...

Scatter my ashes here...
scatter my ashes in the desert...

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Not So Bad, for a Bad Brain Day



Spring made a brief appearance this afternoon, but it's not going to hang out for long. Looks like we're in for more typical Colorado April weather, cold, snow, and wind. The leaves are about to break out any day now, and I can see more green and wilted flowers that froze in the cold snap we had the other day. It was 12 degrees yesterday morning! Today it was windy but closer to 60 degrees when the sun finally came out.

I am very excited about the apricot trees I am growing from seed. I planted the seedlings last week, and they are starting to grow leaves in their pots on the kitchen table. As soon as the weather warms up, I will plant them, in places safe from Buffaloes. We are going to let our grass go over the summer, since we're on water restrictions anyway, and put in some raised beds and grow veggies. And we will xeriscape the front yard eventually.

This morning I met with a film crew in south Fort Collins, they were shooting some footage of me running in a field with the foothills behind us, for the upcoming Spring Benefit for the Cancer Center. I am one of 6 people they will be featuring in the video, 3 are cancer survivors and 3 are donors. I was honored to be included as one of the donors in this year's video. It was fun, they asked me questions about my running and why I support the cancer center, how cancer has affected people in my life, and so on.

It was freezing out there, I had to keep running around to stay warm. I had my jacket and wind tights on, but standing there it was cold. After we were done, I went home to a freezing house. Our furnace died overnight and I scheduled a service person to come out and check it out at 1 pm. Turned out it was the safety limit switch (whatever that is) and about an hour and $200 and change later it was fixed. We have heat again.

Having hot flashes makes heat seem relatively less important, but it was cold in the house this morning, 48 degrees! I know we will both appreciate having warmth tonight. I slept through the night once this week, but then last night I woke up a lot. It's killing my brain, I am worthless and unable to think clearly after a night like that.

I have been distracted, with yesterday's brain fog of a work hangover day, and today between the filming and the furnace, I haven't been able to get much done. But tomorrow I have to start packing for Ohio. The weather forecast looks gruesome at this point, 48 degrees, rain and wind. Ugh. But it's still 10 days away and a lot can change before then. I have a plan, and that's what's important.

I went out and ran about 6 miles today and felt okay. I also ran with the girls. My legs were still sore until yesterday. I don't plan on doing much all week, probably 8 to 10 miles at the most each day. I sat in the hot tub this afternoon, trying to get the girls to stop fence fighting with the neighbor dogs, and other than that brief chaos, zoning out. I have a book review to write and some other things to do around the house this weekend, but my brain wasn't ready to tackle any of it today.

It was nice to not HAVE to do anything today, between being hot, and cold, not sleeping, tapering, and my schedule being off, I feel sluggish and out of sorts. I'm really lucky to have the time to chill. I think I'll go hang out with my girls.

4 comments:

SteveQ said...

The Zumbro 100 Mile just started in Minnesota - in April snow. It just isn't even amusing anymore. Death Valley sounds SO inviting all of a sudden.

Alene Gone Bad said...

Steve, you need a vacation. Go south and west. Arizona would be perfect for you right now.

HappyTrails said...

I am ready for more sun and warmer temps, too. This cold stuff needs to go away right quick and in a hurry! Seeing the pic of the girls made us smile - they are so beautiful! Not jealous of you and your upcoming race conditions. Oy Vey. At least you will look really sharp in your PI gear despite the cold and rain. :-)

Alene Gone Bad said...

Kathleen, my beautiful girls are helping me pack for Ohio this weekend, they told me to pack a lot of rain gear so it won't rain there. I hope it's not too wet because my PI stuff is made for spring conditions! I'll be bundled under layers of miscellaneous brands if it's wet!