I actually wrote part of a blog post while at work today (um, on a BREAK, not while working), but then I came home and went running, so I thought I would like to make a Running Commentary Post instead.
This Saturday, Dec. 10, is the Reindeer Run 5K, part of the Christmas in Little Falls festivities. I have been saying I am going to run it. Maybe. As I left work today, I said to my co-worker, “I guess I’d better go running today, if I think I’m going to run a 5K on Saturday.”
“If you’re going to run Saturday, what do you need to run today for?” he asked. He was not serious.
As I left work, I was a little afraid the temperature would be borderline. That is, should I wear leggings and long-sleeves or shorts and t-shirt? When I took Spunky for a walk as soon as I got home, I got a dreadful hot flash. They have been getting hotter, and they are not over in a flash. They do not particularly bother me; I just ride them out. However, it impaired my ability to judge the weather.
Getting back home, I noted that the thermostat said 42 degrees. My rule for myself is shorts and short-sleeves for 45 degrees and warmer. Still, 42 sounded pretty warm to me, and the hot flash wasn’t quitting. Still, I had made up that rule for myself…
I put on leggings and long sleeves. The leggings felt too tight, so I looked for a pair of fat old lady pants instead. I had run in fat old lady pants recently and found it works pretty good. Fat old lady pants, in case you did not know, are fairly loose-fitting, elastic-waist, poly-cotton blend. The pair I found had pockets, which I liked. It would be handier for my watch, for one reason. The band is broken on my wrist-watch, so now I pin it to my pants and make it a waist-watch.
It didn’t feel too cold or two warm as I started down the sidewalk. I had it in mind to run up the hill to Herkimer College, a challenging 40-minute run to make sure I was ready for the 5K. I managed to cross German Street without too much problem and ran down the sidewalk, avoiding the occasional puddle. I had set out at 3:40 (15:40, my watch said; I have military time) (um, not because I was in the army; it’s because I don’t want to screw up and set the alarm for p.m. instead of a.m.). There was a lot of traffic.
Soon I was running up Lou Ambers Drive. It seemed to take a long time to get to the steep part. Cars whizzed by me, mostly not slowing down or getting over. I couldn’t blame them for not getting over, because there was also a lot of traffic going in the other direction. As I ran, a song I had been singing to Spunky kept playing in my head:
He’d a good dog named Spunky
His name is Spunky and he’s a good dog.
The lyrics are not inspired, but it has a good rhythm to run to. I remembered when I was in Army Basic Training, one of my buddies was on profile and did not run all through Basic, till the very end (“on profile” is a medical thing). Then she had to run the two-mile PT (physical training) test. She said she was going to sing Christmas carols to herself to keep going. It worked for her, because she passed. I decided to sing a few Christmas carols to myself today. It was not the miracle I was hoping for as far as taking my mind off the hill. But I made it to the top.
I could see down to Herkimer, which I had not been able to do the last couple of times I made that run. It was overcast and grey, but I could see buildings. However, I could not linger and really look. I kept running.
By the time I got back to the village and level ground, I realized I could rock this. I thought about the 5K and pictured myself at the 2 mile mark encouraging my fellow runners by shouting, “We can rock this!” Oh yeah, like anybody there will run as slowly as I do!
I made my 40 minutes and was pretty pleased with myself. I must confess, I am not as pleased with my blog post, but you’ll have that. I still haven’t quite made up my mind about the 5K. I’ll let you know. In the meantime, I will gather what satisfaction I can from the fact that I did not make a Wuss-out Wednesday post.
