What's your passion?

I've been sidelined from running with an injury. A minor injury - slightly torn/pulled right quad - but an injury, nonetheless. I took yesterday and today off from running, and it has been an absolute feat to convince myself this is what is best. I may take tomorrow off as well. The leg is already feeling better today, but not quite ready to endure the impact. Runners notoriously ignore their injuries and "run through the pain." I don't want to end up a casualty...collapsing in the middle of a race due to a broken hip (yes, I've read about this happening), needing surgery due to allowing the injury to go too far, suffering permanent damage...the list goes on. My goal is to go for a 2 hr run on Sunday, and if I take three days off, I believe I'll be ready. I've been injured before and had to take time off from running, but for whatever reason, this has been TOUGH. And now I'll explain why...

Running has become a love of mine. A passion. A slight obsession. I read about it, think about it, research it, and become excited when I meet someone else that shares my passion. Running makes me feel b.e.a.u.t.i.f.u.l. Running makes me feel strong. Running makes me feel AWESOME. Running makes me feel sexy. I love pushing myself and seeing just how amazing the human body is. I'm not ridiculously fast and I'm not going to make my career running, but I LOVE IT. Many people have a hard time understanding this serious attachment. For some women, lingerie does it. For others, it's a great pair of shoes. For me, it's running. Don't get me wrong...playing dress up can make me feel wonderful. But to me, there is no greater feeling than the end of a run. And when I cannot partake, whether it's 3 miles or 50K, my psyche is thrown off course. I think about it even more. Part of writing this post is therapy. Just ask Steve...he was able to enjoy a 10+ mile run today and I'm jealous. Jealous! Of my boyfriend! Love is not jealous...the Bible says so. I'm working on it, I promise. :)

Now I ask you, my readers, what is your passion? What is something if taken away from you, feels as though a part of your "soul" has been taken? This may help you see where I'm coming from. Whether it's something you do everyday or once a year... Quilting? Photography? Wine? Cooking? Traveling? Yoga? Homebrewing? Reading? Your job? Baking? Creating beautiful art through sewing, quilting, paper products, painting, photography...? Hiking? Animals? Napping? ANYTHING can be a passion.

Running is mine.

St. Patrick's Day fun

I have many more pictures from the nightly festivities of St. Patrick's Day weekend, but this picture is from the Sheridan Jaycees St. Patrick's Day fun run. I managed to round up an awesomely green outfit, as evidenced in this photo. (Yes, I ran the whole 10K with the boa around my neck) Georgia (second in from left) and I tied for the best green outfit.

Aaaaaand that's all

Pufferfish
Dork :)
Steve preparing for his scuba diving
Wild donkeys
Their taxis

....

Wild donkey - and check out those gas prices!
A residential sign: "Goats Keep Out, Donkeys Go Away"

The hermit crabs grew fairly large
Another hidden trail leading to a secluded beach. The beach was known for having an incredible amount of conch, which were harvested by visitors. Any visitors not wanting to take their conch shell left them at the beach and they started lining the trail with the shells. Other visitors would take the conch shells as souvenirs (we took a few).

...

Steve on our longest trailrun (a bit over 6 miles) to the most fascinating ruins and a few petroglyphs
Most of the trails were lined with these rock walls that were often a form of barrier for the sugar cane plantations
Petroglyphs - can you see them? They were symbols from an ancient tribe residing on the island
The Reef Bay Sugar Mill ruins. This mill ran the longest of all mills and was very interesting to walk around. Close to the mill was a beautifully secluded beach (most tourists didn't want to walk ~3 miles to get to a beach).
Wild goats

And more...

Island deer - much smaller than Wyoming deer
From our chartered fishing boat - we ran into bad weather in the morning, but Steve managed to catch this shot as the day progressed and the weather cleared
Our fishing captain throwing out a net to catch bait. The first part of the morning was getting rough, so he took us into this protected pond to fish for Tarpon; once we left the pond for open seas, the day was much nicer and the water was calmer.
The king fish I reeled in - he gave me hell! We didn't catch a large amount of fish (1 King, 2 tuna, and a few inedible fish), but we kept one tuna and still had tuna steaks leftover to give away.
Steve, the expert driver. He did a great job of navigating the windy and narrow roads, all while driving on the left side of the road.

More pics

View from our first trailrun (trailhead was right across the street from our campground)

We weren't used to the warmth of the island...
Someone else that sweats as much as I do! :)
Well, we did have quite an elevation gain

St. John

Our tent at Cinnamon Bay Campground
The jeep we rented that got us around the hilly island
View of St. John from the ferry trip of St. Thomas to St. John
Steve cooking our first dinner

I'm finally posting pictures from the trip to St. John, USVI that Steve and I took in February. The trip was incredibly relaxing and we had a great time snorkeling, going on trail runs, fishing, and exploring the island. St. John is a great island and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to venture to the USVI. The island is about 2/3 national park, which entails little development and great trails. Here are a few highlights: