Spring in February?

Two weeks ago, we saw Amman's first snow storm. Last Friday, I had the windows open and my spring cleaning music blaring (Melinda Doolittle's debut album, for those curious). Could Spring already be upon us? After nearly a month of hibernation, it feels good to stretch my limbs and reacquaint myself with the living world. Nothing invigorates me more than walking in the fresh, warm air and coming home to find the open balcony window ushering in refreshing breezes.

This past month has been a fulfilling one for the Al-Davisan. Kyle has taken to early bedtimes (often suggesting, at 7pm, "Hey, let's head to bed and read.") His 0530 wake-ups in order to fit in his increasingly long runs benefit from this early bedtime, and his body actually seems to have switched--he's a morning person now! (Or, is he just "old", as he claims, unable to stay up into the wee-hours of the morning battling the wargs in his Lord of the Rings video game?) We have learned that Amman offers little grace to runners. Stateside, you can run when you choose (or whenever you wake up): morning, lunch time, dusk. You snooze your alarm clock three times and get a later start than planned? Big whoop...run when you get up, or wait until after work. However, Amman offers runners only a two hour cushion between 5-7am, before the traffic picks up. There are no convenient trails, minimal sidewalks, no sense of pedestrian-right-of-way, and Jordanians are not accustomed to watching out for runners in the first place.

Hence, grace can only be found in the dreaded treadmill. Kyle has slogged many miles, including a 10K mock-race, interval training, fartleks, and sheer distance on the treadmills at the gym. He hates it, but he loves sticking to his schedule, and I love seeing his diligence in action. All of this hard work will be tested on March 4 & 5 over 242km from the Dead Sea to the Red Sea (the race is affectionately called the "Dead to Red"). Kyle and 9 other teammates will split up the distance in a road relay that starts at 4pm and continues until the late morning hours, ending in the port city of Aqaba. Whew! I'm glad I'll just be in one of the support vehicles, driving my way to the finish line.

Here are a few pictures of runner-man Kyle, slogging it out in the early morning darkness. One definite perk of having to run between 5-7am is a guaranteed view of the gorgeous desert sunrise. It's as if our beloved Bob Ross took his stubby paint brush and pulled the most radiant hue of pink across his easel.

We used to run together, until I was told not to get my heartrate above 120bpm. Although I miss experiencing the morning's transition on the road, in motion, it's nice to have the permanency of pictures to remind us of running in Jordan. This is a chilly January morning, around 6am. I knew the pink was most vibrant in the opposite direction, so I contemplated throwing on some sweats and running to the edge of the wadi (valley) where open sky and only a smattering of buildings would greet me. Instead, I enjoyed the warmth of our house and the view from our balcony. So, just imagine with me, knowing this is only the periphery of Bob's brush stroke.

The desert sun, in all its glory, breaks through the brush strokes and seems to bake the Amman hillside.
And just like that, a new day is upon us.

Then my handsome runner-man returns home around 7am, with the sun fully awake and the day ahead of us. Yay, Mr. Runner-Man!