4.25 miles
river road trail, north/seabury, south + river road, south + edmund, south
26 degrees
Deaths from COVID-19: 79 (MN)/ 24,485 (US)
Much colder today. I think the feels like temperature was in the teens. Decided to try running north. Was able to run by the ravine, the Welcoming Oaks, above the tunnel with trees. Not too many people on the trail. Was able to keep 6+ feet of distance. Also able to run on one of my new favorite spots: the part of the path that winds away from the road and above the rowing club. No one else was close by, no runner crowding me and cluelessly calling out “good morning” instead of moving over. A nice run. I know I looked down at the river at least once, but I don’t remember what I saw. Was the river blue? gray? brown? Not sure. I remember hearing a few birds and I remember not hearing any woodpeckers. Was able to greet Dave, the Daily Walker!
While I ran, I recited bits of the poem I am memorizing for this week: LOVESONG OF THE SQUARE ROOT OF NEGATIVE ONE
I am the wind and the wind is invisible, all the leaves/ tremble and I am invisible, flower without bloom, knot/ without rope, song without throat in wingless flight, dark/ boat in the dark night, pure velocity
Wow, what a poem! I think I recited the entire thing in fits and starts. That first line about the wind was fun to say as I ran into the wind.
I am the wind and the wind is invisible, all the leaves tremble and I am invisible!
Here was the rhythm/ number of foot strikes I used as I ran:
I am the wind/ 1 2 3 4/ ♩♩♩♩
and the wind is invisible/ 12 34 56 78/ ♫♫♫♫
all the leaves tremble/ 1 2 3 45/♩♩♩♫
and I am invisible/♩♫♫♫
This poem took a bit longer to memorize but it was very rewarding to be able to give more careful attention to it. I love the lines/sounds in: “Through darkness, through silence, a vector, a violence, I labor, I lumber, I fumble forward…” and “and foot by foot I find the groove, the trace in the thicket, the key in the lock, as root breaks rock, from seed to flower to fruit to rot”
A note about the strange weather
All day Sunday it snowed. We got 5.1 inches. Much of it melted Monday morning in the bright sun. On Monday afternoon, we had 2 or 3 flash snow showers that lasted less than 30 minutes at a time: Snow, then sun, snow, then sun. Today (Tuesday), it’s doing the same thing as yesterday: Snow, then sun, snow, then sun. A thin layer of snow covers the deck, then melts in the sun, then gets covered again in the next snow shower. Strange.