After having the worst day of my adult life yesterday, and waking up to more complications this morning, I found myself repeating expletives in my head as I drove my son to his 3 hour soccer camp.  After I got the kids checked in, I checked out, and hit the back road to Martis Valley.

I forgot how fast I can run when fueled by anger.

I climbed the trail up towards The Strand (Glenshire), crested the top, and then turned back towards Waddle Ranch instead. The Strand trail had a lot of loose rock and wasn’t very friendly towards my sprained ankle from last week.

I met Matt Rusanoff, whom the trail is dedicated to, the first year I moved to Truckee, while working on the program for the Truckee Follies. Matt was an extraordinary guy, always the life of our Follie’s program planning parties.

He was extremely passionate about the trails around Truckee, and I often think of him while getting lost in my head on a run.

At the top of Matt’s trail is Katy’s Walk, dedicated to Katie Morrison, another friend who left us (with her 2 small children) tragically early. Katie was equally passionate about the trails, and particularly about running. No matter how busy she was, or how much she had going on, she always made me feel like my life was fascinating and important to her.

I thought about the problems I am having with my kids and wondered how Katie, who appeared to be a Supermom, would have handled the situation. Her kids were a bit high-energy (like mine), but they treated her with total respect. I suspect she did not put up with anything less. As I left Katy’s Walk, I thought about how fortunate I am to have my kids, and I made a pact to be a better mom. Life is fleeting.

On the way back,  running down a dirt road, things looked different. I couldn’t be late getting back to the field, as I had a coach’s training (really important since I’ve never played soccer and know nothing about it), so I trusted my instinct and cut across the woods, in the direction I thought Matt’s trail should be.

It took a leap of faith, but I found my way, silently whooping at the sight of the trail, and ran hard back to the field.

After soccer, I took the kids to the pool for a few hours to keep their energy expelling program going strong. We had a blast, and I think we will have a much needed peaceful evening together.