Last Saturday, I took to the outdoors for my first attempt to run from the traffic light here to the traffic light there, and back. Not the most scenic of routes, but it was a good definable distance and goal. My mom and Stuart were really sweet about it. They came out to the sidewalk to cheer me on as if it were really race day. My mom even made a sign that said "GO CATHERINE GO!" And it made a real difference when I was climbing up the tough hill on the way back to know that there were people (and one canine) waiting for me with love at the end who really cared about the outcome. So, the practical outcome is that the external conditions definitely matter -- hills and weather are major challenges -- and running outdoors is way more difficult than the treadmill at the gym. The spiritual outcome is also that the external conditions definitely matter -- demonstrations of love and enthusiasm are major resources -- and they do make it way easier to conquer the hills and the weather. Turning that thought inside out, I feel inspired to offer even more demonstrations of love and enthusiasm to everybody else.... because it mattered so much to me!

Well, the beginning of July was more than a little nuts for us on the work side of things. And I've put a down payment on a new roof for the house. Thankfully that is not an emergency or unexpected thing. I've been planning for that for over a year. It just seemed like the right time to take care of it before going through another New England winter. On the training side of things, I've been continuing to take my mom to the gym for yoga classes, and I've been doing some running at the gym, but not as consistently as I might have hoped. After weeks of rain, I really needed to turn some of my exercise hours into major gardening hours. So, I've been getting exercise regularly, just not a lot of running time. I was afraid that maybe I had lost ground in my training for the Race for the Cure. All this to say that today I did my next outdoor "test" run this morning. Stuart made a special point of bringing me a light breakfast and reminding me that I said that I wanted to do this. And along the way, a kid riding his bike on the opposite side of the street gave me a friendly wave, smiled and provided an encouraging "Woo hoo!" as he rode by. This was my first occasion where I did the run outdoors in the morning. I'm more active in the afternoon as a general rule. I think I actually have improved since my last posting though, which was an unexpected surprise given how "unstructured" my training has been in the last few weeks. The last hill on the way back was still tough, but not nearly as tough as last time. I ran the whole way from this light to that light again, still shy of the full distance for the Race for the Cure. I am more comfortable with this distance with the added factors of the weather and the terrain. The sky this morning was that crisp New England robin's egg blue that we typically don't get until September, and the day was off to a good start really.

Stuart got a call today while I was out helping my mom and the roofers had their schedule open up, and they will be able to do our house TOMORROW! Yoiks! So, Baci dog has to go to the momma's house first thing in the morning. All the stuff in the yard needs to get into the shed... and there were thunderstorms, and... well... I'm all excited about the fact that they delivered a whole pallet of roofing shingles and stuff in my driveway, way ahead of schedule so we can fix the roof over our heads for our little family. I didn't expect them to be able to do this until August sometime. And this is the weird part... it all feels like Christmas...only it's actually a Buddhist holiday tomorrow... According to the FPMT "Every year there are a few special days that relate to specific activities of Lord Buddha.....This Saturday, July 29, is one of these special days, the anniversary of the first turning of the wheel of Dharma by Shakyamuni Buddha." That is to say, the day of the Buddha's first teaching. Apparently "any purely motivated act of generosity will bring an extraordinary amount of benefit." and " the karmic effects of beneficial actions are multiplied one hundred million times." I think I should make lemonade for the roofers tomorrow. :-) Wishing everyone a Merry July 29th!