Cross Country

I ran cross country in high school.  So, I consider myself a runner.  My husband laughs at the idea.  Now that I think about, all the boys in my house laugh.  Maybe, it is because I was voted "Most Athletic" my senior year and they put a picture of me and Troy C. (the most athletic guy) in our Senior calendar and my boys are just jealous.

Well, anyway, back to my point.  I know it has been quite some time since high school but I still do run (in between pregnancies) to keep the heart pumping and lungs working in my old age. If you know where I live than you know my predicament - from my house the road goes straight up or it goes straight down.  Either way, I have to go up hill at some point.  Not good options.  I hate hills.  So, in my mind, I am thinking, I am a Cross Country runner.  I can run in our horse pasture (where it is much flatter) and run the terrain - across the country land!  After all, I am a cross country runner!

In High School when I ran cross country, I remember the smell of flowers with the morning dew, the little dogs nipping at my heels, nicely paved sidewalks, overgrown trees of shade and people waving as they drive by.  Cross Country?  I don't think so!!!

So, I have been running in our pasture.  There are no smells of flowers unless you think manure smells like a flower.  Instead of little dogs, there are grasshoppers everywhere jumping off the grass and on to me - creepy.  The sidewalk resembles rocks of all sizes placed strategically in no manner at all so that I can twist my ankle at any given time.  No shade, just overgrown, prickly thistle.  And as for cars, there are none, just horses and dogs running around stirring up the dust.  Now that is true cross country running.  Why didn't the public schools really prepare me for this?!!  Who knew?

All to say - - I have chosen "the hill" option.