I thought of that title as I walked to my vehicle after work under threatening grey skies. As it turns out, it is an appropriate headline mostly because today is Non-Sequitur Thursday. But at least I ran.
First I went three days without running. These things happen. My legs started to ache again today, so I thought it would be a good idea to get out there. I thought it was going to rain; for one reason, my bunions said so all day yesterday. If it rained I could run in place on the mini-tramp. When it was not raining immediately after work, I thought I would take a chance. What was the worst that could happen? I get wet? As I like to say, I ain’t sugar; I won’t melt. I get hit by lightning? Well, my grandmother used to stay in the pool and count the seconds between the flash and the boom. If it was good enough for Grandma, it’s good enough for me. Anyways, I didn’t hear any rumbles nor yet see any flashes.
I took Spunky out as soon as I got home, as I usually do. It was more a short business meeting than a real walk. Those clouds looked dark. However, on my way home from work I had seen some high school kids running. Probably the track team. If they could run, I could run.
Off I went. My legs were not the least bit happy with me. Next time don’t go three days without running, I scolded myself. Oh, this was painful. I was moving slow but I was moving. A little breeze was nice when I got it. Otherwise it was humid. Breathe, Cindy, breathe. As the run progressed it became harder to breathe. However, I realized that the worse the breathing, the less the legs hurt. One thing about my body, the parts usually take turns complaining. If they didn’t all have to take a turn one right after the other, that would be even better, but you can’t have everything.
I enjoyed running around the neighborhood, looking at houses, flowers, cars. I saw a classic car in one driveway. I think it was from the ’40s but I am not very knowledgeable about these things. I saw a person sitting on a front porch. I would like to sit on a porch, I thought. With a beer. There was no beer in my house. Why did I not stop and pick up beer on my way home? That beer could be chilling in my refrigerator, waiting to reward me at the end of the run. Now what would I reward myself with? There are Klondike bars in the freezer (somebody gave Steven a coupon). The song, “What would you do-oo for a Klondike bar?” played in my head for the rest of the run (full disclosure: at the time of this posting, I have not yet eaten a Klondike bar; weight loss goals, you know).
There was a lovely screened in porch. You can sit on a screened-in porch when it’s raining. Why didn’t I buy a house with a screened-in porch? I had my reasons, but it basically boils down to what that great philosopher Mick Jagger once said, you can’t always get what you want. How much longer was this run going to take? I hadn’t been running in three days, surely 15 minutes would be good enough. Maybe 20. Should I keep running once the rain started or head for home by the most direct route? Why wasn’t it raining yet? Those big fat bluffing clouds!
The rain began 11 minutes into the run. The clouds were not bluffing; my bunions were vindicated. It was a nice gentle sprinkle. I could rock this. Mind you, I was not particularly rocking the run itself, but I was still running. Maybe the rain would wash away some of the humidity. Then it would be easier to breathe. This wasn’t bad at all. Why don’t I ever run in the rain? Of course it wasn’t raining very hard. A downpour might be more uncomfortable. I would see when this rain became a downpour.
Which, it never did. Two or three blocks later, it stopped. What was that all about? It was supposed to RAIN! That little sprinkle had done nothing for the humidity. Rats! Still, I kept going. Once you’re out, you might as well keep going, right?
I ended up running for 23 minutes. I thought that was pretty good since I had run 23 and 25 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. I don’t have a definite plan of when to run again, but I’m thinking before three days have passed. So, Sunday at the latest. Perhaps I’ll write another Running Commentary. It’ll make a change from Wrist to Forehead Sunday.
