I started running again earlier this month but have not been having a great success of it. Among other things, the weather has turned against me.
Just as a side note: I feel a great resistance to including that last sentence. It is quite true that it got extremely cold and many people do not run in extreme weather. Yet when I admit that I am one of them, all I can see in my head are people giving me disdainful looks and getting out miniature violins.
But, you know, I think those people only live in my head, and I’m going to kick them out. I think most actual, non-head-living people can respect others’ choices to run or not to run. I know I would rather applaud people’s accomplishments than denigrate their shortcomings, especially when “shortcomings” means “failure to live up to arbitrary standards set by unreasonable people that live in their heads.”
Well, that was a digression. I had meant this to be a straight running post. I guess sometimes I can’t help but stray into a little half-baked philosophy.
Be that as it may, I decided to run today because it had passed 1 p.m. and I had neither hide nor hair of a blog post. I thought, “Running Commentary will come to my rescue!” (Oh, wait a minute, that is a much better title than “Well, I Had to Write About Something”)
As soon as I made the decision, I felt better. I have missed running. At odd moments I will suddenly think of a street that I only see when I run down it. I miss those streets! Then I think I MUST start running again and continue to work and build myself up, because most of those streets are not a short jaunt from my house (I see those streets all the time).
I got dressed, reminded my schnoodle Tabby that she doesn’t like to run with me, and set out.
The temperature was above freezing, and I could see a few raindrops in the puddles. The snow on the sidewalks was mushy but not yet slushy. I can understand why some people run in the road, but I choose not to. For one thing, on days like this it would have to be the middle of the road or I would be running in puddles. I took the mushy snow.
“It burns more calories,” I told myself. “It takes more effort.” I continued to make the effort.
As I went, I had to think that I probably did not look as if I was running at all. Slogging through the snow, dodging around the puddles — ooh, bare pavement! Awesome! Watch out for that ice. I did not look around and observe houses and yards, as I enjoy to do when I run. I figured it was a good way to end up on my butt if I hit some ice or ankle deep in water if I encountered a puddle.
Some of those puddles were like reservoirs, the snowbanks on either side making effective retaining walls. I confess, I was two blocks beyond the deepest puddle before I came up with “retaining walls.” At first I thought “dams,” but you don’t usually have a dam on either side of a reservoir (and, yes, I said, “Damn!” when I stepped in the reservoir). Well, I like anything that adds interest to my run.
It was really a pretty good run. I added a little bit to the length of time I ran (I always run for a certain length of time rather than a certain distance). I even kind of sort of sprinted at the end. At least, I lengthened my stride and picked up speed. It was awesome! My legs felt long, lean and powerful! I hoped I didn’t hit any stray ice.
Tabby graciously walked around the block with me for my cool down, as usual. When we were almost all the way around, the rain turned to snow and got heavier. How clever of me to get my run in before winter returned.
Mohawk Valley Girl 