I hope nobody will mind if I make another Running Commentary today, since I was out running prior to 7 a.m. I narrated in my head as I went, which I’ve found is a good way to keep myself going. I suppose I could just leave the narration in my head and write about something else for the blog, and perhaps my more critical readers would prefer that I did so. Or they might prefer that I kept silent. Do I have any such hypercritical readers? Say it ain’t so!
I knew it was cold out. Last week we had some balmy temperatures of mid to upper 40s. Was I out running in those? Of course not. I did enjoy numerous walks, though, so the warmth was not wasted on me. I did not repine over the temperature but sought out a hat and mittens to add to my long sleeves and leggings. It was still dark out so my reflective vest added another layer as well as a place to stash tissues. My husband Steven was home so I did not need to worry about a house key.
The sidewalks were bare and dry, so I counted that as a blessing. So what if the air was cold? I would no doubt warm up as I went. I turned right onto German Street and headed towards Main. I had an idea to run up the hill at the end of Main. The top of the hill is blocked off but I have previously been able to run where it is closed to cars. Or I could turn around and run back down the hill. I am nothing if not flexible in these things.
The hill looked wet, even from a distance. What was that all about? Was somebody washing their car at the top of the hill? That’s crazy talk! I never did see the origin of the water, but I believe some of it was frozen. After all, the temperature was barely above freezing and had been below freezing in the night. I ran carefully. I considered running in the middle of the road, in a patch that looked dry, but what if there was a car? Even early in the morning on a dead end street, these things are not unheard of.
The bad part of the road was even more thoroughly blocked off then when I had seen it before. Perhaps pedestrians were still going there, but I couldn’t be sure of that in the dark. I turned around and started back down. And remembered that going downhill on ice is even scarier that going uphill. Of course I wasn’t SURE there was ice there; perhaps it was all water. But I was pretty sure that if I encountered any I would be unable to save myself from gravity. You would think my fat butt would offer enough padding that I wouldn’t be too worried about these things, but somehow that is not the case. However, I made it down without mishap.
Why did Main Street look so different going in the other direction on the opposite side of the street? I got disoriented for a moment before I saw where I was. I ran over to the nice little path over what used to be a hydraulic canal.
I was reminded that when one begins running again after a pause, the second run is often more difficult than the first. My legs started to complain. My lungs weren’t best pleased with me either. Naturally my sinuses were most unhappy, but since they are a never ending source of misery, I wasn’t too worried about that. I wasn’t really too worried about the other body parts, come to think of it. They will feel better if I persevere.
I ended up going one minute longer than I did on Saturday. I hadn’t meant to increase my time for a week, and then increase by 10 percent, as is recommended. But that was the way it worked out. I figure, what’s a minute between friends? I am actually looking forward to my next run.
Mohawk Valley Girl 