It is Wuss-out Wednesday and you bet I am wussing out. In my defense, it’s been a long day and I need it to end early. My original plan had been to write about yesterday’s run. Come to think about it, it was kind of a wussy run. Maybe this will work.
I ran in the road, which I rarely do. However, portions of Herkimer’s sidewalks are treacherous. I did not want to go flying.
I put on the reflective vest my sister gave me for my birthday. Safety first. This had the added advantage of covering me up a little more. I was wearing an actual winter running shirt, and it is form fitting. On the brighter side, my form is looking marginally better than I thought it was.
My plan was to stick to the least busy streets I could find. As I ran down Bellinger, left side facing traffic as recommended, I realized another caveat: it is better to run on the side of the road with no parking. I dodged around cars in between oncoming traffic. I wondered if my reflective vest was doing me much good since it was still daylight.
Soon I noticed a couple with a stroller on the opposite side of the road. I suppose I can’t really fault them for walking in the road with the sidewalks what they were, even with a baby carriage. At least they were on the left side facing traffic. But I had to feel silly: There I was with a reflective vest on, and their baby carriage didn’t have any safety devices. What kind of a wimp was I?
When I finally got off Bellinger I made the rest of my run based on which streets I could be left-side-facing-traffic on the No Parking side of the street. That worked a little better.
Not great, mind you. Just a little better. There were plenty of puddles on the side of the road, too, some of them frozen. Well, all I can do is my best. I managed to run 20 minutes. Less than I had run on the weekend, but longer than I had thought I would make. I did stick to the sidewalks for my cool-down walk with Tabby. At least, mostly sidewalks and some snow right next to the sidewalks.
On the brighter side, it’s February. Spring can’t be far. And I must admit, the weather does add interest to my runs. My next running post may feature me plowing through all the fluffy snow that fell today. I hope it will at least be on the sidewalk.
Mohawk Valley Girl 