Erin Can Run!

Not very far, and not very fast, but I can do it! I ran two days in a row and don't hurt! Well, okay, my butt and hamstrings are sore, but my knee is not. Oh happiness. Eyes are back on the prize, but I am taking it easy and sticking to two days a week in the pool. And not just running in the water. I'm going to swim. It's been nice getting back into swimming. I thought I'd be incredibly bored but there's something so zen about cool water, muffled sound, and just counting, 1, 2, 3, breathe, 1, 2, 3, breathe....

Getting back up to my favorite place in Quito, Parque Metropolitano, was like a homecoming. Oh how I missed it so. And so, here is my ode to Metropolitano:

Parque Metropolitano, how I love thee--
Let me count the ways:
I love how the bad weather stops at your backside,
covers up Guapulo, but you keep it from swallowing my house.
I love your eucalyptus tree leaves
that rustle like the paper I separate before printer insertion.
I love you when the city is smoggy
because you are not.
I love your endless possibilities,
your miles of deserted trails that wind
connect, separate, disappear and reappear.
I love it when you give me a tan.
I love it that you're like a vacation.
I love it when the sun shines through you leaves
and the patterns and smells remind me of spring time in NC.
I love it that the citizens love you,
donate tax money to keep you clean,
and that they come in droves to celebrate you on the weekends.
But mostly, I love it that you give me a taste of home--
dirt trails, clean air, a beautiful place to run.
Thank you Parque Metropolitano,
for being a mere 5 minutes walk from my house.