Tuesday, Paul and I got our last week day run in town while the boys were in swim class.  It was a cool 90 degrees and overcast.  I know 90 may not sound cool to a lot of people but when you’ve been running at 5:15 in the afternoon in the blazing sun in 100 + degrees, 90 degrees feels great.  This is Blake and Camren’s last week of swim class and I think I might actually miss those late afternoon runs.  There’s something to be said for running immediately after work.  The heat and the pavement seem to help pound out the mental stress that my job creates.

I don’t know why, but this run was one of the best runs I’ve had in a while.  My legs recovered nicely from the week-end.  As I was heading back across the pedestrian bridge to the last half mile, I smelled what I THOUGHT were homemade hamburgers and French fries.  It smelled so good, that instead of breathing out of mouth like I should’ve been doing, I was breathing out of my nose so I could smell the aroma.  It was actually making the run feel easy!  As Paul caught and passed me, he asked me if I smelled the pot….WHAT?!  Apparently off to the side of the parking lot, there were some folks getting their afternoon “smoke” in and my sensitive nose picked it up. I argued with Paul…no that was homemade hamburgers and French fries, I was sure of it.  He gently reminded me that pot is a hallucinogen.  Whatever it was, it made the last ½ mile very pleasant.

I would like to say that I’ve been very encouraged by the response to the letters Paul and I sent to our family and friends earlier this month.  Donations are coming in and that does make the training easier and it’s been very motivating.  For most of our friends, tuition was just due at the beginning of this month.  And now for a lot of our family and those same friends (myself included), we are all buying school supplies and uniforms.  It seems like this time of year is as expensive as Christmas.  That being said, I am grateful for anything we collect.  I failed to mention in my letter something important that Paul and I have been trying to remember to tell folks….every dime that’s donated in the name of the Running on Faith team goes straight to St Jude hospital.  Any training and travel expenses incurred are paid out of our own funds.  With that being said, I need to dip into those personal funds because it’s time for a new pair of running shoes for me.  I have my eye on a pair of Nike Air Max Moto+7 in the yellow Lance style.  What can I say….I’m a Lance Armstrong fan!

This is Flash and I’m running on faith that not only will I reach people and convince them to donate to St Jude but just maybe one person will read my blogs and decide to start running too!       

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