I Run Again

When I ran on Sunday for the first time in two and a half weeks, I thought, at least it can be a blog post.

I waited till later in the afternoon, when the temperature was in the mid-40s. As I ran down German Street, I saw a number of cars. Nobody waved at me. I remembered how when I was in the army, if I ran on my off time I usually ran where people would see me. They often did see me and at formation the next day they would say something like, “You run all the time, don’t you?” It wasn’t true, of course, but it was encouraging, especially when I was deciding to run or not to run. People thought I Ran. I couldn’t disappointment them.

These days I have some friends and family who believe I run a lot. I let them know when I have been slacking off, in the interests of honesty. And I let them know when I start running again. In the interests of getting some positive feedback.

I was soon enjoying my Sunday run. The sun was bright but not hot. I admired many Halloween decorations. I saw a man running with a perfectly wonderful looking dog (my dog doesn’t like to run with me). I called hello. I didn’t think the dog wanted to stop and be petted, so I didn’t ask.

As I ran through a residential area, an adorable little white dog barked at me indignantly. He was attached to his porch by a lead.

“Good dog, guarding the house,” I praised. I heard a couple of voices from inside the house yelling at the dog to be quiet. Good luck with that.

I did not run very far, since I was just getting back into it, and I did not run very fast, because I almost never do. When I get used to running again, I may add in a few sprints, for good measure.

I must say I felt pretty terrific after my run, and for the rest of the day and even into Monday. It is absolutely true that exercise improves your mood. I hope to run again soon, and maybe I can go back to making regular blog posts about my runs. When I don’t have other Mohawk Valley adventures.