Turn your rut into a groove.

am--4 Jaunt around the park w/ a good crew. 
 

I finished 2 books today: Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson and A Beam of Light by Andrea Camilleri. The first is a beautifully written book about the coming together of a few generations of women in an isolated town. One of the themes is that comfort comes from how we choose to organize our living space. The second book is a sign that I'm in the middle of an Inspector Montalbano kick. On to the next one.

am--6 Good run on the SC Parkway, chatting w/ Zac. It's great getting to know people better.

pm--4 Anasazi to the top and back in the 108-degree temperature. Callousing.

am--4.75 Confluence Park towards Green Valley. I felt pretty blah, even after. 
 

I finished another Montalbano this morning, A Nest of Vipers. I'm going to take a book or 2 off before I come back just so I don't seem so obsessed.

pm--5 Ran on a mostly full stomach. I did a ladder of 1, 2, 3, 2, 1 at a quicker pace on the grass w/ equal recovery. 

am--5 Anasazi to the chipmunk sign. I'm feeling a bit funky w/ a bit of snufflitis going on. Good run despite. I listened to an old podcast w/ Mike Smith from NAU. It was very good.

pm--5 Grass run w/ my neighbor. The heat doesn't go away at night nowadays. Although, it feels better after dusk.

I finished an interesting book about relationships and religion--Southernmost by Silas House. Makes me want to visit Key West.

am--6 Anasazi to the homestead. I got out a bit earlier and am grateful for the slight cloud cover and breeze. 
 

I wrapped up Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. Fun, quick read. Now, off to watch the Studio Ghibli interpretation w/ my kiddos.

am--5.25 Jaunt on Anasazi w/ Tom. Was getting warm near the end. This summer has been a real scorcher. 
 

I read another Montalbano book, The Other End of the Line. Another case solved. Not sure there are any detective books that provide the same feel as these, and I'm running out. Father Brown next?

am--7.25 Longer run out to Green Valley and back. I was able to run w/ Avrie. She showed some toughness. 

am--4 Canyons and back w/ some of the boys crew. Kids camp after. 
 

pm--2 Acclimation run around the school. Not too hot.

am--4 Lava Flow out-and-back w/ a barefoot mile on the turf after.

am--5.75 Contender workout on the SC Parkway bike path. Basically, we did some timed pickups. I was supposed to keep the pace between 6:45-7:00 on the pickups. Went fairly well other than the fact that the group was all over the place so not together throughout. 

pm--1.75 Bike path out-and-back w/ some strength training after.

I finished a meta book today--The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop. by Robert Coover. It's about a man who essentially starts and runs his own fantasy baseball league as the sole participant. He goes to the extent of keeping stats throughout the seasons, dreaming up backstories, writing newspaper articles. Needless to say, his real life spirals out of control. Interesting read.

am--3.5 nice recovery run w/ a good group w/ 6x striders after. The rain last night was needed.

am--5.25 PV run on the Santa Clara River Trail w/ a fast finish. Saw some good things from the kiddos. The watch took a minute to start.

am--4.5 Nice out-and-back on SC Drive. Jumped a bit between groups. 

am--5.5 SC Elementary loops. I jumped in for most of the workout w/ level 2s but didn't stop my watch when I gave them times, so my pace looks tortoise-style. 
 

pm--1.75 Easy afternoon run w/ strength training afterwards. Doubles bring a skeleton crew. That's always fun for me.

am--3.5 Nice run, chatting w/ Moss about anime and various tasty toast toppers. 

pm--4.25 Anasazi to the top to complete some climbing for a challenge in which I have no eligibility. Nice heat work regardless.

I finished a Brunetti mystery, Death in a Strange Country, by Donna Leon. Good but not quite Montalbano level.

am--5.75 Tuweap Tempo w/ hill sprints to finish. The level 2s packed nicely today. Nice progress. 

pm--1.5 Afternoon shakeout on the grass w/ strength after.
 

Finished another Montalbano novel, The Pyramid of Mud. It's a nice one about the mixed corruption of Mafia and government in Southern Italy.

am(1): 3.5 Up the Harmon's path w/ what has become my crew most days. Had a good chat about books.

am(2): Precipice from the bottom w/ Ellie and Josie. First time I've seen Ellie since her mission. I'm happy that they reach out for a run so we can catch up once in a while. Great people.

pm--5.75 Anasazi w/ Chipmunk loop. The youngest has been a bit sick from his shots, so I didn't get out w/ anyone and not until later. I was rewarded, however, w/ one of the nicest runs of the year. There was a drizzle the whole time, coupled w/ the excitement of looming thunder and lightning while I ran on exposed ridges and shoulders. I need to remember this one.

I read a scholarly book--Situated Learning by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger--today. There was some fascinating stuff about learning in apprenticeships. Nice to read stuff like this once in a while.

am--5.75 Helped w/ intervals. It's been fun to help kids work together. Nice morning.

am--3.5 Down Lava Flow and back. This little piece of road is real close to hone, but I've never explored it. Glad for that. I also got to chat w/ Hailee about various things. She's going to do some great things this year.

am--3.5 Warm-up and cool-down w/ the kids and some running around during the time trial. Nice of Spencer to let me tempo w/ him while he cooled down.

pm--2.5 Lava Flow out-and-back for another good chat w/ Hailee. A bit hot again this afternoon.

am--3.5 A nice run on the bike path w/ one of the crews.

am--6 Out-and-back on the SC Parkway. I worked into the run and ended up w/ something like 15-minute tempo for me. Chatted w/ Brea, as well. It'll be fun to see how she does with running in the future.

am--4 Ran down and up a hill in Beaver. Wasn't as gnarly as expected. We had a good time at xc camp. It's fun getting to know new kids.