My legs were beyond tired when I attempted an easy 6-miler on Tuesday morning. I made it out to the park, but it didn't take long for me to completely lose my motivation and wind up leaning on a wall by Lake Clara Meer to watch the ducks paddling around. I managed to jog/walk back home and resolved to try again at lunchtime. At lunchtime I made a very lackluster run up to the Highlands and back with plenty of walk breaks. Not my proudest moment, but c'mon - I did an 11.3 miler on Saturday and an 18 mile bike ride on Sunday.

MOB's right - I need to get a training plan together or my motivation will continue to swing wildly.

Tonight's run was another tough one with the Oakhurst running group. Still a great group, but every time I run with them, there are parts of the route where I think my heart is going to leap out of my throat and roll down the hill behind me. And if it did, I wouldn't have the energy to chase after it. In the end, even though I'm usually the last one in, I'm doing really good compared to how I'd do on my own. That keeps me coming back to these guys.

As for the drawing / art stuff: I'm still working on the surprise gift for someone so I can't share pictures of what I'm doing, but I'm getting a lot done and am very excited to keep working on this. I'm mainly doing pen drawings and have bought some nicer colored pens with very very fine points. Really happy with the results and am finding it easier to draw and sketch more often.

I think the increase of creativity is making me dream more at night. I wake up nearly every morning with some dream or another in my head. That hasn't happened in a very long time. A few days ago, I woke up in the middle of a dream about taking care of a horse. That's a good sign. Usually when I dream of horses, I'm in a good place in my life.

Speaking of good places, MOB and I received a very generous gift from a friend of mine - a gift certificate for both of us to take part in last Tuesday's Blues Beer dinner at The Brickstore. It was a very well organized event, with tasty food and delicious beers. We were sat at a table with a couple of guys who were pleasant enough and one in particular shared MOB's passion for beer and running. I highly recommend attending any of these events at the Brickstore. Apparently, they have an ulterior motive in that they're trying out some menu items for the restaurant that they will be opening in Grant Park sometime soon. I don't mind being their guinea pig!