Trailing Off & Sufyawning

Summer is flying by, but my reading list is still rather long. I'm trying to get myself into the literary groove by treating myself to such francophile trash as Stephen Clarke's Merde Happens and alternately forcing myself to pick up Light in August (because I'm in that Faulkner/Oprah's Book Club kind of mood).

This weekend was calm. I spent Saturday night down in Glen Ellyn, IL visiting a friend from the running team. It was the first reunion since her semester in Greece and my stint in France. We had a delicious brunch and her dogs filled my affection quota for the week-- it was just what I needed.

Returning to Beloit on Sunday, I went for a long run out in the Turtle Creek flood plain. In the summer months and during the off-season in general, I take off my watch for long runs. I love picking a route by distance and going the miles at a pace that just plain feels good. Down on the trails, Beloit is green and with my weekend schedule wide-open, I can afford to go any extra twenty-minutes if I've got the energy to spare.

[Above: one of the trails by Turtle Creek.]

After my run Sunday evening, I stumbled back to campus pretty exhausted. It was only seven o'clock, so I cleaned up, made my favorite spinach/raspberry/feta salad, and settled in to do something I hadn't done in a long time: I sat in my room to listen to music and enjoy the air conditioning.

Taking a slow evening of old Sufjan Stevens, trashy reading from the public library, and catching up with family on the phone feels a lot like a good tooth brushing: healthy. So, with August and the fall semester fast upon us, I'm milking the merde of the end of July. Hope you all have a very relaxing week, wherever you may be.