The Payoff for Winter

Time to prune my roses.  A February 15 ritual that signals spring is around the corner, for me anyway. Central Texas may have a few more freezes between now and Easter. There are warmer than cooler days ahead though. My roses know this. Their branches shoot out new leaves each day benefiting from my post run coffee grounds and banana peels the months before. My bird of paradise that I had been hauling inside and out during freezes, finally had a beautiful yellow and purple spathe jutting out from it—the first time it’s bloomed in four years. The milkweed was bunching up for the coming Monarchs. My over-wintering hummingbird was still slurping up my feeder nectar. Spring is shaping up to be the payoff for what I did in winter, yard-wise and running-wise.

Yesterday, I was churning up Congress Avenue, miles three through six, during the Austin Half Marathon. A gradual ascent; there were worse hills, this was the Hill Country after all. These 200 feet seemed to go on forever; especially when I could see all the participants moving up the hill in front of me. All the buoyant expectant conversation around me suddenly quieted in focused effort.  This was serious business. I was half way up the climb when I realized I hadn’t thought about stopping yet.  I checked myself. This wasn’t like me.  I wasn’t huffing and puffing as much or convincing myself walking up it would save my legs later. I wasn’t straining. I was striving. Those long weekend runs to campus and back the past few months were making a difference. Duval was making me stronger. I just hadn’t realized it. When I reached the section where the half marathoners turned back towards downtown and the full runners turned left, I asked myself if I could’ve gone left. Could I have gone farther?  Not today, I told myself, but it’s only 13 miles more if I train. Only 13 more miles? That’s a thought I haven’t had in years and a seed planted for future seasons.