WEIRD & COOL

So, I ended up running a total of 1,037.5 miles between June and August.  I ran from home, from my parents' rental on Martha's Vineyard, from my in-laws house on the Cape (where I spent the majority of my summer), from a couple different spots in NH and probably a few other places that I can't remember at the moment.  Basically, I was on the road a lot.  I listened to audio books, podcasts and, of course, to music.  I did all types of workouts....tempo, track, long runs, recovery and doubles every week.  The majority of my miles, however, were just easy cruisers that I was adding to the bank in preparation for Chicago which is next month.  On the slower runs, particularly my second run of the day when I was often shuffling and perhaps a bit less enthusiastic about being out there, I wasn't afraid to stop and smell the proverbial roses if I wanted or needed a break and if something strange or cool caught my eye mid-route.  I won't lie.  I was easily distracted during many of those runs.  And my level of distraction had a direct correlation to my level of exhaustion.  Think of the tired, young toddler that sees a butterfly and wants to follow it.  That was me.  And yet, when I look back on all these funky things, I'm able to string together the narrative of my summer training, which in and of itself is pretty cool.  It's kind of an odd post, I'll admit.  But, I did have fun putting it together and thinking back on the moments when I happened to stumble on these items or, as in the last case, people.  You never know what will stop you in you tracks, right?  Here's a few that did.

WEIRD AND/OR COOL THINGS I SAW WHILE RUNNING OVER THE SUMMER

This peacock was the first odd thing I saw while I was running.  I assumed it was a kids' toy and that it had fallen out of a stroller or bag.  But, when I picked it up, it was pretty heavy and clearly very ornate.  I put it up on a rock wall in hopes that it would be easily found by it's owner, who, I'm guessing was missing it very much. 

I have no idea what this red, sparkly ball is.  I just remember that I spotted it as I was running on July 4th.  I also remember being very tired and thinking, hmmm, maybe I could put this in my hair and wear it for the fireworks.  Again, very tired.  As I got closer, I realized it was bigger and heavier than I'd expected so it probably wouldn't work as a hair accessory.  Which was a total bummer as it would have looked awesome.

Okay, so in addition to the legit TURTLE XING sign, someone took it up on themselves to add their own version right next to it.  At first I thought this was strange.  But as I got closer and saw the many flattened shells near the signs, I understood that one likely wasn't enough and whoever added the other sign wanted drivers to give these little creatures more time to get across the road.  That made me smile.

This was on the rail trail in Harwich, MA.  I thought it was such a cool chalk drawing.  There were tons of them including the one at the top that says NEVER GIVE UP which I took to heart many, many times as I slogged along this path over the summer.

Honestly, this kind of looks like a medieval toilet.  PEPPERMINT SPRING is carved along the top, so I'm guessing it does not, in fact, have anything to do with the bathroom.  But still, you see what I mean, right?  

Okay, this has to be one of the weirdest for a couple reasons.  First, why does someone have this stencil of Inigo Montoya and what made them want to paint it on a Yield sign along a bike path?  Second, on the same day that I saw this my friend, Beth Baker, tweeted this:

Now, I don't know if the stamp on the sign is actually Inigo Montoya but it was the first person that came to mind when I ran by it.  So, it was super weird to then get back and see Beth's Tweet because both the actor and the movie, The Princess Bride, were fresh on my mind.  Such a good flick.

This is just a super cool, funky rainbow colored house that I ran by in Lincoln, NH.  In addition to the house beeping painted in all the colors, there were things like life-sized fake pigs and birds in the yard, also multi-colored.  I wish I could have gotten a better shot but I didn't want them to think I was a total creep taking photos of their house.

Last and definitely the best of all summer was bumping into my friend Rebecca T-W on the Rail Trail in July.  That alone doesn't seem that weird.  But it was weird.  Because one year ago to the day I'd been doing a workout at Harwich High School and was cooling down on the bike path.  Rebecca lives on the Cape and I rarely see her so, naturally I was thrilled when I saw her biking towards me.  We stopped and chatted for a while and then said our goodbyes.  Remember, that was July of 2018.  This shot above was on the same exact day, one year later.  I had just finished my workout and - BOOM - there she was.  What?!?!  We were kind of speechless and giggly for minute before we got ourselves together.  We talked again and then agreed to meet up in 2020 at the same spot on the same day.  Kidding.  We didn't.  But, something tells me we will.

Listen to this:

Hallelujah - Oh Wonder