Thursday, July 05, 2012

Of Bunnies and Men

April 2012.
I had hoped to sit down at the computer this morning to write about my triumphant return to training, inspired by my son's performance in a Independence Day road race yesterday. After running a half-marathon last fall, and severely reducing my training to a weekly average of, uh... zero miles,I had hoped to work my way back into relative competitive shape--but if the spirit is willing (and it is becoming clearer that it is much less so than inn years past), the body at this point is not. So what had begun as a 5/20/5 walk-run workout turned into a 30 minute walk.

But along the way something wonderful happened.

As a rule, I run without headphones, ipads or other external distractions, and while doing so enjoy picking up on environmental noises and occurrences, such as birdsong or observing ubiquitous animals. Today I observed (at pretty close proximity) no less than six (6) wild rabbits (bunnies?) wandering a one block area of my urban neighborhood. I'm guessing that of the six, at least four were younger, given their smaller size.

Though like the iconic Lennie from Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, I find myself wanting to reach out and touch the rabbits, the commonalities between he and I end there... I hope. I continue to grow accustomed to keeping a level of awareness for their presence under hedges and hiding in plain sight in the middle of lawns like small stones.

And that is easier on my knees than running...

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