The End of the Old and the Beginning of the New

Temperatures turned unseasonably warm in Highlands today - up to 55 degrees by afternoon - and the sun was shining warmly, like summer lemonade.  Turnout for the Saturday group run was smaller than usual (because of holiday obligations, I think), but those who did show up were rewarded with almost balmy conditions.

Winter Solstice is over, Christmas is over, and a New Year will shortly be upon us.  Karen, always the comedienne, noted that the day seemed a little longer already.  And it is true - we are nearly a week closer to Summer Solstice; we have circled around the marker on this long out-and-back course and are heading home.  It seemed as if all morning I was talking to one runner after another about upcoming running plans.   Fred and Paul are running races in January and February, Martha and I are looking at February and April.  With the whole morning in front of me, I completed 10 miles - my first double-digit run since my marathon in November. 

It's a time for reflection and hope, a summing up of what we did and did not accomplish this year and the roads we are looking forward to running in 2015. Are we ready for 2015?  As children's author Lemony Snicket said, "If we wait until we're ready, we'll be waiting for the rest of our lives."  I'd rather get out on the road, wouldn't you?  Why wait?