Guaranteed Burn, Optional Hurl

Hubby and I did on a grueling mud-drenched seven mile trail run this morning, came across this sign. I love the "Guaranteed Burn, Optional Hurl" of this trail. It was strangely prophetical as the trail wound up a challenging grade covered with clay mud so slippery it was like ice skating up a 15 degree slope. Not to mention, our shoes had so much mud and leaves stuck to them it was like running with two-pound ankle weights.

Still, you can see the sun shining through the trees, and we took Sophie the AdventureDog along and got to have an uninterrupted hour+ of conversation doing what we love the most: being together, outdoors, active. Now that's something to be thankful for! So on that subject, yesterday's body part on my list of thankfulness had to be my mouth. What an amazing thing, to be able to taste all of those good foods, to savor all of the wonderful ingredients of the day, not to mention have the feast available to us that we had. Pecan-coconut yams, green beans in a maple-mustard-balsamic sauce, and a turkey roasted up just right. My mom even went to the trouble of finding a humanely-raised antibiotic and gunk-free bird this year, which was so thoughtful of her, and local cranberries from an Oregon bog that made a sauce so tart and scrumptious, it was just the right tangy counterpart to the turkey.

Today I'm grateful for my strong ankles. They carried me over roots, rocks, and slippery slide slopes of mud with nary an ankle-turn. I feel lucky to be able to be out in my childhood stomping grounds, running through the woods I played in as a kid, feeling the freedom of a body that moves just right. Happy day after Thanksgiving folks!