I had the most amazing run on Wednesday. AMAZING.

It was light when we left at 6:45, but I could tell that it would be dark before long. Rob and I decided on our usual loop, the one by the river, crossing the two bridges, including the one with the mutant, flesh-eating spiders :shudder:, which has the best view of the mills and sunsets. I tried to find  a rhythm early with my breathing, and pushed the pace a bit. Rob ran behind me on the asphalt sidewalks and caught up with me at the lights, which were all green for us.

We hit the first bridge feeling strong. Mile 1, done. Next it was the gentle downhill and curving road along the river. There wasn’t much to look at as we passed the UMass Lowell football field, althouogh the lights were on, giving us some visibility on the otherwise unlit road. Soon, we had our first view of the mills and the second bridge – a slight break in the woods that flank the river. The sky was a dark pink and cobalt blue, steaked and lovely.

We ran a little faster now, trying to make it to the bridge before the sun had fully set. Rounding the corner, we saw it – another beautiful view. It felt like autumn and I half expected to smell someone’s wood stove burning, or hear the sound of drums at a marching band practice, echoing over the water. We ran across the bridge, side by side. Finally, we could run together. Rob joked about the spiders. They are huge, fat spiders, about the size of a quarter or larger, weaving intricate webs along the red bridge trusses. They frighten and fascinate us at the same time. "Look at that one", we yell.

Past the ball park, across the road, and back into the labrynth of streets between the mills. There are cars parked everywhere. Something is going on. We hear people laughing and talking on the patio  of the brew pub nearby, enjoying the evening in their own way. I am sweating and feeling strong. Maybe it is my Danskin Triathlon singlet or my super new shoes, or maybe it’s just me, running.

We wrap around the Tsongas arena and head back to the main road, past the police station and city hall, and then walk the last block to cool down. We see the prices at the gas station, and the young girls buying cigarettes. We hear the sounds of car stereos and moving traffic. Turning onto our street, most of that fades away, and we look up at the windows where lights are on. Someone has a pretty paper lantern. Another has an intricate screen  made of carved wood.

I look at Rob and say, "That was an amazing run. I feel awesome." He stops and looks at me, tilts his head and asks, "then why are you crying?" I put my hands to my face and realize that I am.

"I’m just so happy," I say. "This was the best run ever."

Rob tips back his head and laughs long and hard. "Chicks," he says. "Grow a set, would ya?" Then he hugs me and we laugh some more, and I wipe the tears away with my singlet, thinking about autumn, and why it is so special, so loved.

This weekend was particularly busy, what with the open studios preparation and all.

On Friday, the artist who will be sharing my space for the event came by and we talked about setting up, the where and when of it all, and worked out the food/beverage thing. After she left, I worked in my studio for the remainder of the afternoon, watched the rain come down, and headed home around 6:00. Rebecca and I hit the Southeast Asian restaurant for dinner and watched Volume 1 of Empire Falls at her house.

Saturday was a lot of cleaning, organizing the office and closets (finally) to make more room for Rob’s stuff, riding (even though the Jericho Road Ride was postponed until Oct 2nd because it was supposed to rain, but didn’t), and BBQ eating with friends. I talked to Christine for a good stretch (she is moving to Libya for a year – I shit you not), and didn’t get anything done in my studio, but it was worth it in order to catch up with my best friend, yo.

Sunday was weird. Rebecca and I got up and walked for about 4.5 miles in the morning through the Belvedere. That’s where all the old mansions in Lowell stretch out along a tree-lined road, and equally lovely victorians and 1920′s colonials flank them on the side streets. It was a muggy but pleasant morning, and while I wished I could have been running, Rebecca and I had a nice time. There was very little traffic and we enjoyed looking at all the houses.

Rob made me pancakes when I got home, bless him, and I enjoyed them immensely. Got cleaned up, went to my studio, ran a few errands, came home. I made fish and asparagus risotto for dinner, and had a glass of wine. Did some final work for open studios – an ad for the Lowell Sun. Went to bed at 11:30pm.

And now it’s Monday morning and I’m at work. We spent some time talking about houses and stuff over the weekend, but I have to stop thinking about it right now. It has me all stressed out and I just want to enjoy the coming months and not worry about where we are going to end up. We’ll deal with it in the spring. In the meantime, I’m going to keep spinning, riding outside as long as I can, and running.

I have been a bit slack on the running front, doing my 3 mile loop twice a week, and that’s it. Truthfully, I am enjoying running right now, but my time management is the suck, at present. Again, it will all get figured out. I just need to be patient and try my best. And maybe get up a little earlier. :)

I was seriously pissed off on the way to work this morning, and really, it was my own fault, but still. Rob had a late hockey game last night and I thought it would be nice to let him sleep in a little, so when the alarm went off at 6:30, I turned it off and we both slept for another half hour. Normally, we have been leaving the house between 7:30 and 7:45. Today we left at 8:15, as an experiment to see if traffic would be better or worse. It was worse. Way worse.

My point is – I am sick of this commute. I know that I perpetually complain about it, and I’m sorry, but I feel like I spend so much time sitting in stop and go traffic, angry at people, and it’s not worth it. There are so many factors in play, however, that it is going to be difficult to remedy the situation anytime soon.

We have been looking at houses and trying to figure out where we want to relocate in the greater Boston area. Rob wants to be out away from the city, but since we both work there, and will likely continue to work either in Cambridge or out on 128 somewhere (because that’s where most of the software jobs are), I think this will be diffiuclt. That being said however, I do love some of the towns up near NH or on the north shore. I would love to have a house on an acre lot. I would love to live somewhere that was just… nice, and not all jammed in.

One of the towns we are looking at is just beautiful. It’s ridiculously expensive, but it has a ton of conservation land, rolling, winding roads, and is generally just a really nice town. Everytime we drive through it, I love it more – seeing cyclists and runners all over the place, people walking their dogs, kids riding bikes. It reminds me, I guess, of certain towns in Ohio that I really like, and in some ways, of where I grew up. It’s near enough to Lowell that I could keep my studio. It’s marginally closer in terms of commuting, but still pretty far. Unfortunately, I am not sure we can really afford the house we want there.

We’re more likely to find the house we want in Melrose, which, like everywhere inside 128, is ridiculously expensive. In Melrose, we have the Middlesex Fells, a nice town center, a much, much shorter commute, and the convenience of the train as well. It would be possible for me to bike to work from Melrose. But the areas of town we like, or rather, where we can afford (barely), are quite jammed in.  Most of the houses are on .25 acres, or more often, less. Some don’t have driveways or garages. All of the ones we can afford need new kitchens and bathrooms, although that is true with every house in every town we’ve looked at in our price range. So I like Melrose, but I don’t love it. I can see myself there for 5 years, but not 10, if that makes sense.

So we are trying to figure it out, because come spring, we would like to sell and move. I guess what I am wrestling with is my love of more remote places, as well as the idea of whether or not this house will be a starter home for us – something we’ll only be in for 5 years – or if this is where we want to live for a more substantial amount of time.

Anyway, it will give me something to think about on my run tonight. Or at the gym, depending on what time I get home.

Spinning was good last night. Turns out that another woman in my class is doing the Jericho Road Ride, so that’s cool. She’s trying to talk me into the 40 miler. :)

Crazy lady.

Mark asked if everything was okay. And it is, thanks for asking.

I just haven’t either had time to post, or, when I’ve had time, I haven’t felt like it. Between work, some freelance, and Open Studios prep, not to mention setting up my studio, finishing the kitchen (finally), and getting Rob settled in, it’s been a tough coupl’a weeks.  Oh, and here is the final kitchen pic, with the hardware on, which we finished this weekend. You can click on the picture to enlarge it.

We also ran this weekend, and have been doing okay with that. I didn’t manage to get out on my bike, however, and that sort of bummed me out. Between the working, the running, and the spending time with friends, we were swamped. Plus, I was just tired.

On the 17th, however, I am doing the Jericho Road Ride. It’s a 20 mile ride to benefit the Jericho Road Project, a non-profit organization that is doing a lot of good work in Lowell, and who has helped the Arts League of Lowell (ALL) with some legal work. I am happy to do it, and will be riding with 4 other members of ALL. Guess that means this weekend will be all about the bike, in preparation. SWEET.

One other  thing I managed to accomplish this weekend, was a good ol’ bike cleaning. I felt like I was 10 again, working with the bucket and rags to clean the frame, and then the brush for the chain. Messy work, but fun. I do wish I had a proper garage and a bike stand, however. Rob was happy to hold the bike for me while I cleaned it, but still, working out in the parking lot of my condo was not exactly easy, what with the lack of running water and all.

So let’s see, what else? We’re running again tonight, and enjoying the cool weather. OH! I bought new shoes and I loooooooove them. They’re Saucony’s other motion control shoe – the Grid Regulate. They’re more cushiony or something, so they feel lighter on my feet, even though they weigh exactly the same as my Stabils. Whatever. They rule. I have a feeling that they will end up being my race day and short run shoes, while the Stabils will serve me well for longer runs. We’ll see.

Well, it’s time to go check in with the other blogs.

Congratuations to the New Haven Road Racers!!!!! I’ve been reading your reports all morning. :) Wish I could have been there!