Before the recap of today’s run, first some good news!

Since my laser surgery back in 1993-1994 for diabetic retinopathy, I have seen a specialist on a yearly basis from the same office (Retinal Consultants of Arizona). I may be now on my 6th doctor, having outlasted the other 5 (and sadly outlived- the first was a very young doctor who died in a car accident; but 1 retired, 1 moved out of state, and one… not sure what happened to him). Anyhow, until August, my yearly visits have been routine– get dilated, wait in the office for 1-3 hours, get a 5 minute exam, and “looks good, come back next year”.

I thought the last checkup might not be good since I had started seeing a few more floaters, and sure enough, they said there was some small bleeding in my left eye, and they wanted me to try and do better with the glucose control and return in 3 months.

Today was three months and… Great news! The bleeding had cleared up. They still want to check again in 3 months, but… it might mean that running has been good for my sugar levels. I may hate running, but I like what it is doing for my health.

By late afternoon, the dilation had worn off, and since it is still unseasonably warm, it was time to RUN.

I decided to do my regular 40 minute loop through the neighborhood, but reversed the direction. This made it interesting, because since the placement of hills was different, my 5 minute markers were different. I did feel ahead of the pace, but expected the last stretch from “Al’s Barber Shop” up sharp hill, then up a hill on 87, then up a hill on Louthian– and still I got back to my start point 45 seconds earlier then going in the other direction.

And I cannot explain how one direction could be different, but oh well, that’s how the run bounces.