Working Up a Mess

Today's Run:
3.88 miles/ 35 min

Short run at a fairly slow pace on the Greenway Trail today, but boy I needed that after those hills last night. It's late in the evening now and for the first time ever, I'm sore thanks to running. I've always had strong legs thanks to 20 years of dance growing up and so far that foundation has served me well. This also marked day 3 of a personal running streak record - you gotta start somewhere, right?

I am glad I'm sore this evening. It lets me know that my body is getting stronger and it is stretching, growing and changing in ways that will benefit me later. That pain I feel is actually a gain. And a few Advil will help just about anything.

I spent many weeks each summer in this part of the country and one of the things that all of us grandchildren had to do on a regular basis - like at least every other day - was to string beans. An adult (usually a grandfather) would go out to the garden and pick a "mess" of beans. Much of the cool morning was spent on the porch stringing and breaking green beans so they could cook the rest of the day with fat back or bacon or ham hock. I'm pretty sure that every meal in the summer time included green beans.  It had been 15 years since I "worked up a mess" of beans, but it was just like riding a bike. 

My aunt from Colorado arrived today and to celebrate I prepared a vegetable dinner with farm-fresh beans, squash, corn, zucchini, and new potatoes. For dessert - a ruby-berry cobbler (rhubarb and strawberries). It reminded me of the meals my grandmothers would make.