Did you ever make up your mind to something bad-ass then partway to actually doing it, realize you are perhaps not quite bad-ass enough to do it. There I was, running down German Street in Herkimer, NY, writing my blog post in my head about how I ran up to Herkimer College the front way (a rather impressive hill, for new readers, if any), and I thought Hmmmm…..
I did not run last weekend due to, oh never mind why, just don’t judge. Then I only ran on, what was it, Monday? Too lazy to reach for my running journal or see if I posted a Running Commentary about it (and I have menopausal brain fog and purely cannot remember) (oh yes, I remember now it was Monday. Take that menopause!).
Well, I was not going to write a blog post about how I did NOT run up that hill, so up that hill I went. It really wasn’t too bad. Following advice I got many years ago, I just looked at my feet and shuffled up that hill. I did look up a few times, glancing both ahead and behind me. Not too far up ahead, enough to feel proud of behind. This was going to be no problem, or at least a not insurmountable problem.
One reason I had wanted to run up the hill was that earlier in the week a friend had posted a picture of the view on Facebook. I wanted to see that view again myself. Accordingly, I looked to the right as I got to the top of the hill. Hmmm… a bit misty in the distance. No matter, it was pretty enough and I can run that hill again.
I failed to mention my running attire earlier, but I was in shorts and a t-shirt. I had wondered if that was quite right since it has been cool for June these last few days. My hands were feeling pretty cold. One thing that did not help was I was carrying a small bottle of water in one of them. You see I was at a very fun party last night and was a trifle, shall we say, dehydrated this morning (again, don’t judge). I was sipping water as I ran and planned to refill my bottle at the spring on the way back down. Now I looked at the Herkimer College sign that flashed the date, time and temperature. 45 degrees. That is my cut-off temperature for shorts and short sleeves, so I should be good.
I ran down the back way, which is a quiet, woodsy road. Of course the main roads were pretty quiet at the time I was running. I do love getting up and getting right on the road when possible. I finished my water about four or five minutes before I passed the spring again.
I had run 31 minutes the weekend before last and 24 on Monday. I thought it was not unreasonable to shoot for 33 today and I saw I was handily going to make that. I was at 26 minutes when I got to the spring. I stopped my watch while I refilled. Straight home would give me 33 minutes, or perhaps a bit more. No matter. I was bad-ass. My legs felt pretty good, although they would not have minded stopping. My breathing was a bit labored, but I felt I was getting sufficient oxygen.
On Church Street I encountered two neighborhood dogs and their owner. I quickly ran to them. For one reason, as regular readers know, I love to pet dogs. For another I wanted to tell their person about our pending pooch. I knew she would be pleased. She said she hoped she would be out sometime when we are walking him. No doubt we will encounter one another.
I had stopped my watch again while I petted and chatted. Now I turned it back on again. I was a mere block away from my house, so I felt a little silly doing so, but why not run the last bit? I ran past the house to make my total 35 minutes. I went into the house for a sweatshirt before my cool-down walk, which felt wonderful (both the sweatshirt and the walk). I have big plans to run tomorrow. Up that hill again? Up a different hill? Maybe just a long run. My plan is definitely to run! Then later I will walk our new dog. I’ll probably write a blog post about it.
Mohawk Valley Girl 