Summer kicked off with the Combloranne 18km trail race. Early one sunday morning, with fresh snow in the hills, the boys and I piled in the car and headed to village of Combloux, a.k.a, the pearl of Mont Blanc.
On route home, Anders said to his older brother, “you are making paw prints on the back of the seat.”
Summer Footprints…..
The snowy winter boots have been put away only after the last snow on June 19th. Our entry way welcomes you with muddy footprints, a spattering of sports shoes, sandals, sneakers, random slippers amongst some grass clippings and the smell of recently mowed lawn.
When I worked as an instructor for National Outdoor Leadership School, we tried to teach to our students to leave only footprints when we travelled in the wilderness. I, too, try and teach this message to my two boys ages 5 and 7. Funny, they have not quite grasped the message as there is a continual trail of Lego’s, Hama beads and socks throughout the house. The Leave No Trace philosophy is not easy to embrace in our household but we are working on the “Get it out, put it away” principal.
Summer fills us with longer days and lingering alpenglow evenings.
The birds rise early with their songs, and then sing small intermittent tunes throughout the day. Most Moms yearn for these endless summer days, banking on the fact that they can check off more from their to-do list, but in fact it is a mere ruse. At least my own children boycott the early bedtime …”mommy it is not dark out yet for sleeping“.
Many moms attempt to squeeze in just a few more hours into the day to work, workout, have fun with the kids, plan a meal, shop for groceries, clean the house, finish laundry, finish the to-do list, have a glass of wine with a friend, carpool the kids, and what am I forgetting? Oh yes of course, Sleep!
Sad, but true, these few extra hours are simply squeezed out like a lemon in a glass of summer lemonade or burst like a bubble. Whatever would we do if we lived in Alaska? I, then recall the answer from a friend who does live in Alaska and she said, sleep less, do more and get black out shades.
Despite all moms’ great attempt to squeeze more hours in the day, summer is a wonderful time to slow the pace down and take advantage of all the juice and pulp in that lemon, to enjoy the bittersweet taste of lemonade and to sip it slowly ’til every last drop. My mom makes the best lemonade and I am still attempting to get the recipe just right.
Summer Smiles
A pre-breakfast run up to Chalet La Floria
- A favorite spot
with Sari Anderson and Lyndsay Meyer . Home in time for breakfast with the boys.
Riding with the B-man. He is hard to keep up with!
The boys took part in the Mini Cross du Mont Blanc, which was one of many races over the Mont Blanc marathon weekend.
I volunteered for the 1st KM vertical of Chamonix. It was a huge success, head up by our coach from our Chamonix Ski Alpinisme Club
As usual the ambiance that this weekend brings is spectacular. It is great to see so many thousands of people , young and old, passionate about the sport of trail running.
- Mont Blanc Marathon Weekend Ambiance
On Sunday Birken and I cheered on the Marathon finishers
I took the start of the Cross du Mont Blanc and did not feel quite right on course. It turns out I pulled a tendon in my hamstring so I am taking a break from running this week and enjoying some other summer moments, as well as tackling our biggest event on the calendar this summer, moving house.
It is easy to be discouraged by an injury or a setback. For me, this has allowed me to re-adjust my training and my summer stride.
I hope to discover some new races and leave new footprints in some new places.
It has been a nice treat to vary the summer training with road and mountain biking, strength training, yoga, and of course swimming at a pool with one of the best views in the world.
So you know where you can find us these next few months, smiling in the moment, leaving muddy footprints and enjoying summer!
Here is a little summer mantra inspired by Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh
Breathe in summer…enjoy
Breathe out summer, smile.
