Moslty Up; However Some Down

After all this time away from writing, I am still quite the runner. This past week four days in a row, however, I have taken the last three days off. Life stuff. The previous week I got in four times for a total of 17 miles. Which included a 10 k distance a week from this past Friday. There is one discalaimer. Not sure how big it is at this point, though. All miles were down on Precor Buddy.

I am putting in, what I think are some very intense runs on Precor. I vary the programs a great deal with each workout. I usually have three - four different ones in each workout. While all this sounds very boring in a spinning my own wheels sort of way. Let me just put into terms of this. Main Street Hill in Edmonds, Wa. There is an ultimate test for me on how good of shape I am. It is that hill. For about 3/4 mile running, in what seems like a 45 degree angle straight up I have usually gauged what kind of shape I am. I have a program that seems straight up hill with a great deal of resistance - Main Street Hill like. You know as I write this - I am starting to miss my hometown a great deal.

Edmonds, Wa. for me was almost a near perfect place to grow up. A scenic but constantly chilly beach on the Puget Sound looking smack at the Olympic Mts. in which a town, then city grew out eastward to what is Mountlake Terrace. Mostly conservative town, but fairly well educated and I would say mostly middle/upper middle class. With some pockets of decently very well off folk.

I say mostly conservative with some reservations. What a conservative is in Edmonds or even Seattle, might be quite liberal in Downtown anywhere else USA. After living in Washignton, Kansas and Nevada - defining these two so-called spectrums or bookends is a bit dicey for me. Not sure either words (or, any in between) can define anyone or any community very well. I will say most of the Puget Sound area (Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue-Everett) has a tossed salad of political and culture views. Edmonds, South Snohomish and North King County always seemed to be were this salad finds a dressing. Pragmatic folk who don't get too worked up or excited by much of anything. More concerned about not offending anyone, than winning any great cause they may or may not have. With that of course comes an underlining feeling of acceptance and tolerance of most. In other words, nothing important and nothing unimportant has emerged from my hometown. Not too cold or too hot. Not too soft or too hard. Just right as the girl with golden locks would say.

Someone once said ( I am sure many others as well) you cannot go home. However, much I miss Edmonds and would love my kids to grow up in a similar place - just don't think I can ever go home again. I will say better than Vegas though. Well accept for the Sun, Palm Trees and 60-65 degree Winters. Outside of that .... cannot think of anything Vegas has worth being here for. Certainly not the people who live here. Edmonds had a slogan in the 80's you could find on bumperstickers - "It's an Edmonds Kind of Day." The Vegas slogan for most of the time we have lived here - "What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas". I agree the latter should always happen no matter what part of Vegas we are talking about. The first - well - you cannot do much worse or better.