Category Archives: running commentary

Where’s that Monster?

Posted on March 20, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I did not write my blog post at work today, but I thought that would be OK, because I intended to run so I could do a Running Commentary. As the day progressed, I became increasingly enamored of the idea, because I would HAVE to go running or I wouldn’t have a blog post.

It was a bright, sunny day but not the least bit warm. As I walked from my place of employment to my vehicle, I breathed in the cold air and felt tired. Maybe I could run in place on the mini-tramp. For one reason, my husband Steven was home so I could visit with him as I ran. For another reason, if I was just too tired I could wuss out and already be home. For the main reason, it would be easier to breathe and my nose would not incessantly run.

Even so, I dithered once I got home. Outdoors or in, resolutely keeping the possibility of not running at all off the table. Finally I put on shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt and hauled out the mini-tramp (it is actually quite handily located in the dining room). I asked Steven to find the silent movie I’ve had on the DVR since October.

The movie was The Monster (1925). The description said something about a Dr. Ziska doing… something nefarious. I was just fascinated by the name Ziska, because I’m quite certain a Dr. Ziska figures in one of the cheesy movies on our 50 Horror Classics DVD. I haven’t tried to look it up yet. Uncertainly sometimes adds zest.

I’m taking a long time to actually get to the run, because the run was pretty dull. Another advantage of running on the mini-tramp is that I tend to run harder. I set a leisurely pace outside. I find it easier to be leisurely moving in a horizontal direction than vertically. So I told myself I was burning more calories and building up my legs, even as I kept looking at my watch. I ran 26 minutes on Monday, while calculating and re-calculating in my head if I would be in shape in time for the Boilermaker. Would I make it for 26 minutes today?

Could that movie take any longer to get to the monster? The first scene is dramatic: a scary-looking guy causes a farmer in a car to have a bad accident. Is the farmer dead? As the next scene opens, the farmer has disappeared, causing much excitement in the village. The movie becomes less exciting as the investigation stalls and a lame romantic rivalry takes over the plot. Let’s go, movie! It’s supposed to be a horror movie! Scare me!

I must say, running around my beloved Herkimer looking at houses, yards and passersby is a lot more interesting. Steven and I chatted a little, which was nice. I moved my arms around, over my head, back and forth. I did a little twist, just for something different. After all, it worked for Chubby Checkers. It could work for me.

I made it for 26 minutes. My cool-down walk around the house was only five minutes, instead of my usual 10 to 12 around the block with Tabby. So I owe Tabby a walk. I owe myself an outdoor run, too. Possibly on Saturday, weather permitting. If the weather is bad, well, maybe the monster will finally show up on that movie.

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Getting My Feet Wet

Posted on March 11, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yes! Today was the day! I started running again. Naturally I’m going to write a blog post about it.

I told myself all day I would run, so went right upstairs to put on my gear as soon as I got home. It was a lovely 40 degrees out, still cool enough to cover my legs and arms, I decided. I put on a pair of long johns I had been wearing under my skirt on Sunday plus my Army long-sleeved t-shirt. When I started putting on socks and sneakers, I hit a snag.

My running socks are all very short. Did I really want 5/8 inches of ankle exposed? I did not. I found my one pair of winter running socks. These were long enough. And very thick. I pictured them all soggy after I had run through a couple of the puddles I was sure to encounter. Finally I settled on a pair of just regular socks that looked like they might be athletic socks. For heavens’ sake, I was only going to run about 20 minutes. How bad could they be?

I had contemplated running in the road instead of on the messy sidewalks. After all, almost everybody else walks and runs in the road. What am I so wimpy about? Well, it isn’t exactly being wimpy. It is a matter of principle. When I am driving I HATE encountering pedestrians in the roadways. It’s scary! I don’t want to hit a pedestrian! And I don’t want to bash into another car trying to avoid the pedestrian. Yes, I am capable of navigating the roadways with pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles, cars and the myriad unexpected obstacles one encounters. But I like to give myself every advantage. Thus, I prefer to give other motorists the advantage of NOT having to avoid hitting me when possible.

All that said, I may have still run in the road, but when I was driving home I observed that the only really dry surface was in the center of the road. As long as I was going to run through puddles, I reasoned, I might as well be in the safer space.

The sidewalks weren’t completely covered with puddles. There was also lots and lots of gushy, mushy snow. Not slush, mind you. That’s wetter and gushier. This was soft enough to make for a really challenging running surface. I kept telling myself how many more calories I was burning with the extra effort. And breathing prayers of thanks for the occasional patch of bare sidewalk.

I changed the direction I was running in a couple of times to avoid pedestrians walking in the road. I just felt too stupid slogging along through the gush while they strolled at their leisure down the center of the road, with a fine disdain for their own safety and the peace of mind of any drivers they encountered. I crossed the street a couple of times in search of better sidewalks, but I don’t know how much good that did.
At least it added a few more seconds to my run. After all, I was running for a certain length of time, not a certain distance.

It did not take long for my sneakers to start to squish. You know how the sidewalks get: snowbanks on either side holding a lovely reservoir of cold puddle in the middle, with or without ice. Sometimes I tried to run on the sides where there was ice or snow, but it was really easier just to plow through the middle. Most of them did not have ice on the bottom.

Breathing was not the most pleasant, but I persevered. Soon my legs were… not exactly hurting. Were they… yes! They were WORKING! Then they started hurting. Well, I was prepared for that. I knew it was going to be one of those runs where the only satisfaction I get is the fact that I ran. One of those “Dammit, I did it!” runs.

Incidentally, today’s title occurred to me early in the run, when a little water had seeped through to my socks but they weren’t soaked yet. You know that expression “just to get your feet wet,” when you do a smaller version of something big you intend to do. Like having a walk-on in a play before going for a major role. Or running a 5K while you train for a marathon. Writing a silly blog while you work on your novel.

Well, I thought I was being clever. If you don’t agree with me, just chalk it up to Tired Tuesday. At least I ran (dammit).

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Running from Post-Christmas Letdown

Posted on December 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yes! Yes! On my last chance before 2015, I have returned to Saturday Running Commentary! I am the woman!

How’s that for not having a post-Christmas letdown (yet)? Well, when you are feeling down, there is nothing like physical activity. And if you get to the physical activity before the blues really kick in, so much the better.

Steven and I got up at a ridiculous hour this morning, because he had to work at 6:30. The weather report promised mid to upper 40s later in the day, but I wanted to get my run done so left shortly after Steven did, 6:27 by my watch.

My thermostat said it was 34 degrees, so I had on leggings, long-sleeved ARMY t-shirt, winter running socks, a hat and mittens. Also my reflective vest, because it was still dark out. That had the advantage of having a zipper pocket in which I placed two tissues and my house key. I reminded myself to be careful of the key when I took the tissues out to blow my nose. Losing the house key that way is just the sort of thing I would do.

I had thought that by running while it was dark out I might see some Christmas lights still up. I knew I might not see many. For one reason, some people around here seem to feel the need to puritanically haul down all lights and decorations immediately their calendar turns to December 26. For another reason, some people turn their lights off at bedtime and might not turn them back on in the morning. Steven turns our lights off but we turn them back on in the morning till the sun comes up.

Regular readers may have noticed that I have not been running since November. I know, how dreadfully remiss of me. It was with some trepidation that I set out. However, a few steps down the street and I was thinking, “This is EASY! I can do this!” I quickly noticed some lights on houses on German Street, which made me feel even better.

I ran to the hill by Valley Health. Normally at my first run after a long pause I do not require hills of myself. However, I felt I should make an effort. As I ran by the hill up to Herkimer County Community College, the streetlights mocked me. It will be a while before I am ready to take that hill again, but I vowed to myself that it will happen (I’ll probably write a blog post about it).

I stopped feeling that running was easy by the time I reached to the top of the hill I did run. Now my legs felt like macaroni, breathing was less than fun, and I wanted to stop. However, I persevered. The Christmas tree I could see in the lobby of Valley Health cheered my up.

Back down the hill and into the residential streets, I began looking also for lights that would indicate other people were awake thus early on a Saturday. I saw a few. After all, it wasn’t four in the morning. Between 6:30 and 7 is a perfectly normal time to be up, even on a weekend. I saw several houses with Christmas lights on but no other lights. A couple of houses with lights but no Christmas lights. How depressing. One house had only the basement lights on. Probably a mad scientist’s laboratory. The flowered curtains were a dead giveaway.

There was just a little bit of light appearing in the sky as I approached the end of my run. I only require 20 minutes of myself when returning to running but thought I might possibly manage a little more this morning. My body had returned to the “I can rock this” stage, but I didn’t want to push too hard. After all, I do have the rest of the day to get through.

I ended up going for 24 minutes, which is how long I went the last time I ran. As Tabby walked my cool down with me the sky lightened even more. I admired the bare trees against the blue grey. When Steve, Tabby and I took a walk yesterday, I kept saying how much I love to walk. However, I don’t know if anything really feels as good to my legs as the cool down walk after a good run. So it looks as if I’ve kept that post-Christmas letdown at bay for a little longer.

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Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary, Saturday Running Commentary and tagged Christmas decorations, Christmas lights, post Christmas letdown, running, Tabby, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Cold, Dark But Not Horrible Run

Posted on December 1, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

As I was running this morning, I realized two things: Sunday Running Commentary is becoming my new feature and I was narrating in my head in the past tense.

Narrating in my head is nothing new; I’ve done it all my life. I always read a lot of books and figured my life was one of them. This morning I was narrating my blog post. I only started narrating in the first person since I’ve been writing this blog, but point of view is a whole other discussion. I realized that thinking in the past tense was not a bad idea, because it presupposed I was going to bring the run to an acceptable conclusion. You know, like when you’re reading a suspense novel and you know the narrator is going to live, because he or she is telling the story. If I was going to collapse into a snowbank and perish, who would be making the blog post?

Not that I expected to perish in a snowbank. I didn’t feel that I was rocking it, but it wasn’t horrible. It was, however, cold and dark. And I was running in the road. I almost never run in the road. Give myself every advantage, I say. Keep away from traffic. However, the sidewalks were ice covered. I don’t mind running in snow; the resistance burns calories. Ice is another story. I have a fear of falling. Good thing I’m not taller or I’d never stand up.

I went early so that I wouldn’t have a chance to talk myself out of it, which we all know I am pretty good at doing (what a useless collection of talents I have). The sun was not up, so I wore my reflective vest. Now I could run in the road with no fears. Also, 6:11 on a Sunday morning (yes, I noted the exact time I left), how much traffic could there be?

I turned down German Street, a notoriously busy street and went some way in blissful solitude. Left side facing traffic, of course. You’d be surprised the number of runners who do not follow this simple rule. One car. He didn’t slow down but he got over a little. I turned down a less busy street. Another car way in the distance. Was he headed this way? I turned down a side street just in case. No cars here.

Very few lights in windows to encourage me. I do feel encouraged to think I’m not the only idiot out of bed. Oh, I know, I may be the only idiot, but I’m not the only one out of bed. There was one. A hall or bathroom light left on all night? Hard to say. There was a Christmas star all lit up on a front porch. Nice. I do look forward to walking Tabby after dark and seeing all the holiday lights.

I turned down a long stretch and saw a pedestrian way in the distance. Someone walking their dog? I do love to stop running briefly to pet a dog. Down the middle of the street they went. Seemed a little foolhardy, even at this early hour. Well, if they were up to some nefarious purpose they would hardly be in such an obtrusive place, would they? Anyways, my friends from Coffee and Conversation with a Cop told me the bad element was generally in bed by 4 a.m. (my usual early morning running time).

The cold air was not helpful. Regular readers know my sinuses preclude my following the in-through-your-nose-out-through-your-mouth dictum. In fact my nose was running rather copiously. One of the nice features of my reflective vest is the zipper pocket, so I had a tissue. It’s the little things.

My body as a whole was not particularly enjoying the run, but I realized my legs were OK for the most part. I felt grateful for my legs. Perhaps I should have tried on some of the mini skirts I saw at the Thrift Store yesterday. My legs are actually pretty nice for a woman my age. I used to be quite an aficionado of mini skirts. Pondering the question kept me going for a few more blocks.

I ended up going 24 minutes. Still on the plateau but at least I’m not going downhill. Incidentally I ended up back on German Street near the end of my run for one block. I encountered two cars. I felt a little ill-used over that. No cars, no cars, no cars, then two cars in one damn block! What’s that all about? No matter, they didn’t hit me.

The best part of my walk was my cool-down walk with my schnoodle Tabby. I always love the cool-down walk. I almost always love to walk, especially with my dog, but a walk after a run is a beautiful thing. I hope I find time to run again soon.

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Thankful that I Ran

Posted on November 27, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I cravenly did not run yesterday (did you read my blog post? I was tired! It was winter!), so I thought I might run this morning before beginning the Thanksgiving festivities. We were up early. I had coffee and a banana with peanut butter. I used to wait at least an hour after eating, you know, like they used to tell you to do when you went swimming, but I have since read conflicting advice. Anyways, I was hungry (stand by for some half-baked philosophy about advice on some future Lame Post Friday).

It was 30 degrees according to my thermostat, so I put on pants and a long-sleeved ARMY t-shirt. The t-shirt has a reflective decoration on the back. I was glad of this, because I intended to do at least part of my run in the road. As I wrote yesterday, winter is back. There was a lot of snow on the ground and I was betting there would not be a lot of bare or even semi-bare sidewalks.

I figured prior to 7 a.m. on a holiday there would not be too much traffic. Then again, some stores began their “Black Friday” sales too early to qualify for the name. As the great Fats Waller said, one never knows, do one? Never mind. The sun was up and so was I. I added toque and gloves to my ensemble and set out.

It was not too cold after all. I was glad of the gloves and kind of wished I had added a sweatshirt but I knew I could hang. I ran to the end of my street to find that there was in fact traffic on East German. I ran a little way (left side facing traffic OF COURSE) then crossed the street to where I saw a cleared sidewalk.

Of course it didn’t last. I was soon plowing through fluffy white stuff. It wasn’t too bad. I told myself it would burn more calories. This would be great. Surely a 20 minute run plowing through snow would burn as many calories as a 30 minute run on dry bare roads. I had no way of doing the math but could see no advantage in knowing exact numbers so did not repine.

I turned down Margaret Street where I felt I could safely run in the road. Perhaps not. Wasn’t this ice? It wasn’t glare ice in any case. It didn’t feel too slippery, but I continued with care. My middle-aged shuffle is ideally suited to these running conditions. I made a mental note to include that observation in my blog post (and you see that I did) (feeling pleased with myself). When I went back to the sidewalks and plowed through the unshoveled parts my shuffle was less delightful, but I persevered.

Back in the road I stepped in a puddle. Now my feet were wet! Don’t go back on the sidewalk, I told myself, or your feet will freeze in the snow. I pictured my feet encased in ice cubes with perfectly smooth sides and right-angle corners, like in the cartoons. That amused me. It didn’t happen when I eventually returned to the sidewalk.

I did not encounter much traffic but at one point a car came towards me while I was in the road and I was not near a place to get to the sidewalk easily. And there was a deep puddle to my left. Oh dear. I got over as far as I could. The car wasn’t going very fast. I thought maybe the driver had seen ARMY on my shirt and did not want to hit a veteran. Be nice to veterans. Um, not I think people ought to run over non-veterans. Does anybody really think I think that? If you do and you are offended, well, I am offended that you think I think that! So there!

Where was I? Oh yes, headed back home through the snow. I ran 22 minutes. Twenty-two is my favorite number. I really enjoyed my run. When I wasn’t looking at my feet and running with care, I was looking up at the trees, which were still covered with snow. I enjoyed the grey light of the just-risen sun.

After walking my cool-down with Tabby, I shoveled the end of the driveway and the sidewalk in front of our house. After a run where I thought, “Oh, these nice people shoveled! These rotten people didn’t!” I wanted to be one of the nice people.

I was delighted I had run. My body felt awesome. I really need to run or at least walk every day. When I get it out of the way so early I feel set up for the day. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Sunday Running Commentary

Posted on November 23, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Instead of my usual Wrist to Forehead Sunday, I thought I’d try a Running Commentary. When I first got out of bed this morning I was completely disinclined to run. After some coffee and perusing the paper, I began to reconsider.

By this time I’d been up long enough to get hungry, so I thought I would eat a banana with peanut butter, wait for it to digest a little, then run. This also gave me time to watch one of our favorite shows, Mohawk Valley Living. It gave the temperature a chance to warm up a little too, although we didn’t start out as cold as we have been.

I normally run in shorts and t-shirt for anything over 45 degrees. My thermostat said 44, so I stretched a point. I had a bad moment when I put on my headband and found that my hair looked completely ridiculous. It is at that in-between stage: not long enough to do anything with, too long to do nothing about. Should I put on a hat, hiding the mop? Or just look ridiculous and say to hell with it? Then I asked myself, why was I even debating about it? Who cares what I look like when I run?

The morning was grey and gloomy, which suited me fine. Sidewalks were wet but not icy or snowy, and not too many puddles. It was after 8:30 when I set out, but traffic was OK. Early lasts later on Sunday than it does on Saturday, if you see what I mean.

I headed towards Valley Health, to run the hill by it. I must build back up to the hill to Herkimer County Community College, but these things don’t happen all in a day, or even in a week. I sternly told myself that they don’t happen at all if one continues to take four days off between runs. I had good reasons for not running those days, I argued, but I wasn’t buying it. If only guilt burned calories.

That hill was not fun. Yesterday when walking uphill I had observed that I like to walk uphill. Not too long a hill or too steep a hill, but a certain amount of hill is good when walking. I wished I was walking but continued to run. This would work. I could hang.

I felt better after the downhill and back on level ground. I realized my lungs were not happy, but my legs could totally rock this. One can’t have everything after all. I concentrated on feeling happy that at least part of me was rocking it.

I got tired earlier into the run than I expected to. It wasn’t any specific part of me that felt bad, just an overall tiredness. Yesterday when I was greatly enjoying my walk with Tabby, I had thought how blessed I was to love things. I love to walk, I love to write, I love to run, I said to myself. I asked myself this morning, was I loving this run? Um, no. But I wasn’t hating it, so that was something.

To further enjoy my run I made a conscious effort to look around at houses. One porch railing still sported black garland with skulls. Nice. One house looked abandoned. Not so good. That one had new-looking siding and porch. Nice again. That large house was crying out for a new paint job. Wait a minute, was it really crying? No, it stood there with dignity. “This is me. Take it or leave it.” Good house. I guess I get a little fanciful.

I ran for 26 minutes, which I consider respectable. There is no hurry to improve. Maintaining is good. After all, I’m not a world-class athlete training for a nationally televised event. I’m just a middle-aged lady exercising for my health, entertainment, and perhaps a blog post.

Not Bad Ass Yet, But Getting There

Posted on November 15, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Earlier this morning I made a note to myself: When you plan to run Friday afternoon instead of Saturday morning, do not talk yourself out of it. You will regret it Saturday morning. However, shortly after I made that mental note, I realized I was enjoying my run quite a bit and ceased to repine.

We got snow in the Mohawk Valley Thursday night. Friday it started sticking to the ground. Not a huge amount. We did not have to break out the shovels. Still, it was snow, and it was not warm, even by the standards of someone who spent years living in the North Country (that would be me). I almost talked myself out of it again. After all, I could run in the afternoon, when it might be warmer but would certainly be daylight. Surely a better time to run.

No, no, I told myself. Just put on some leggings and long sleeves. Find your winter running socks. Get going. Steven had cleaned out the living room closet yesterday so it was no problem finding a hat and gloves. I put on a sweatshirt for good measure. I hesitated about the sweatshirt, because I also intended to wear my reflective vest. If the sweatshirt got too warm it would be awkward to take off with the vest on top of it. Then I thought, it’s under 30 degrees. Put on the sweatshirt.

Snow covered the sidewalk but not thickly. I ran with a low, shuffling gait, in case of slick spots. You would think with the amount of padding I carry around my hips and midsection that falling would hold no terrors for me. Well, let me tell you, fat can bruise painfully, too. Spoiler alert: I didn’t fall today.

I was happy I had worn the gloves and hat. I only wished I had something covering my face, because that got cold in a hurry and never warmed up. No matter, I didn’t intend to run very far. 20 minutes would be sufficient, I told myself. I have been running 25 minutes. I thought I ought to think about increasing it by the recommended 10%. After all, I’ve been running for more than a week. Not as many times as I perhaps ought to be running, but I can work on that. For now I just kept going.

Occasionally my trailing foot would slip as I shifted weight to my leading foot. Nothing too worrisome at the speed I was going. I did not increase my pace. I felt so comfortable. Sometimes when I run a slow pace I feel it is too slow. I feel I am plodding like a fat snail, just slogging along in a pathetic, embarrassing fashion. Today it did not feel too slow. I felt awesome! I was so glad I was running!

I knew I would not end on a sprint. Too dangerous. I decided as I went which way to go. When I had mapped out in my head which streets would bring me back home, I thought I would just get home when I got there and that would be how long I ran. I was on the opposite side of the street. As I approached the house, though, I ran by to the corner then crossed the street and ran back. Yeah, I felt bad ass.

It ended up being 27 minutes, an increase of less than 10% but an increase nonetheless. As Tabby graciously walked my cool-down with me I started to feel cold. I suppose that means I did work up a sweat, even at my slow, shuffly pace. I still felt pretty damn good about myself. I will build up my run time. I will be bad ass.

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Rocking the Tired Tuesday Run

Posted on November 12, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Note to self: When you run on a Tuesday, so you can write about the run and not have another Tired Tuesday post, write the blog post as soon as you are done running. If you wait you may become too tired.

Well, never mind how tired I think I am. I ran and I am going to write a blog post about it. I ran Saturday but not Sunday. I had thought to run Monday but took my dog, Tabby, for a long walk instead. I know I won’t run Wednesday, because we are doing laundry (may write a blog post about that). So I thought walk Monday, run Tuesday (for anyone concerned about my getting enough exercise, Steven, Tabby and I all took a nice walk on Sunday) (for anyone concerned Tabby misses her walk when I run, she always walks my cool-down with me. A shorter walk, perhaps, but she seems OK with it).

Be all that as it may, today was an unseasonably warm day: in the 60s. I reminded myself all day that I intended to run, just to get in the proper mindset. I changed into running clothes right away when I got home. Bicycle shorts and a t-shirt. Woo hoo! That is my favorite running outfit. I took off.

I ran up to German Street and turned right, so the sun was behind me. My shadow in front of me looked tall and slender. Look at those long legs! In reality, my legs are short, even for someone of my meager height. They are fairly shapely for all that, if I do say so (and why not say so? I have low enough self esteem; let me give myself a compliment once in a while). As I continue into middle-age, my legs are perhaps a trifle less shapely than when I was in my 20s, but running will no doubt help. You go, girl, I told myself.

Only I wasn’t going very fast. My best runs are certainly not the ones I take after working a full day. At least it wasn’t a 10 hour day, although I used to run after those, too. Back in the days when I was getting the sweet overtime (NOT complaining; I’m happy to still have a job. Also, it’s easier to work for eight hours than for ten) (just saying).

So I shuffled along, trying not to feel too self-conscious. I mean, I really felt that I must look pathetic. Then again, somebody pathetic who just keeps going is to be admired. And there is every chance she will look less pathetic as time goes on.

I cheered myself up by looking at people’s fall decorations. Lots of scarecrows, mostly with friendly smiles. One had a pumpkin head and an especially toothy grin. I do love fall. There are still colored leaves on some trees. I saw one large yellow tree that was still full. Later I saw three smaller bright yellow trees with two completely bare trees in front of them. I like the look of bare trees too. I am quite the tree lover.

As I kept running (I realize that is a generous term for what I was doing), it did not get any easier, but it did not get substantially harder either. I ran for 25 minutes, matching my previous few runs. As Tabby walked my cool-down with me, I felt happy that I had run. For a middle-aged shuffle on a Tired Tuesday, it was not too bad of a run. I did not feel at the time that I was rocking it, but I realize in retrospect that I was.

I Did Run!

Posted on November 8, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Did anybody expect Saturday Running Commentary to continue for two weeks? Personally I had my doubts. In fact, I got up this morning at the lamentable hour of 3:30 with no immediate plans to run. After all, I had all day. This isn’t summer, when I have to get my run in before the heat of the day. I had some coffee with my husband, read Friday’s papers, played a little solitaire, ate a piece of peanut butter toast. Nice morning.

About 5:30 I decided to get in the shower. Steven had to work at 6:30, so he would still be here to put lotion on my back (a very convenient aspect of having a husband). As I went upstairs, I realized I was feeling down. Nothing horrible, but a little… depressed. What a dumb state of affairs for my day off. If I went running, I thought, I would feel better. I should go running.

I would go running! I confess, the thought of “should go running” occurred to me as a regret that I hadn’t, not an encouragement to. After all, I had eaten peanut butter toast. Had it digested enough? No matter! Where were some running clothes?

I found a semi-dirty pair of long johns and a long-sleeved t-shirt. The long johns were just these thin polyester jobs. I don’t think they’re really made to be warm; I think they are just another layer to put on. I usually wear them as a comfortable alternative to pantyhose. They work as leggings.

Before I got to the end of the driveway I turned around and ran back into the house for my hat, my black knitted toque. It was under 40 degrees, according to my thermostat. I only wished I had gloves, too. Off I went.

I ran to Valley Health, to run the hill it stands on. Regular readers may recall that that is my starter hill. It’s kind of steep, not too long. An effort, but doable. I did it.

I was glad I had worn my reflective vest, because it has a zipper pocket. I had a tissue in the pocket, and I needed it. It didn’t feel too cold once I got moving, but it was cold enough to make my nose run. Sorry if you find it disgusting of me to mention it.

A few lights were on in houses I ran by. A number of vehicles drove by. Not everybody sleeps in on a Saturday. Many porch lights were on. For people who never made it home last night? What racy things were they up to? I prefer to think about people up to racy things than getting into accidents or prosaically forgetting to turn the porch light off.

A scarecrow backlit by a porch light leaned at an eerie angle. I felt pleased to think of Halloween lasting a little longer, although I suppose the eeriness was unintentional. I felt happier and happier with myself that I was out there running. Yeah, I’m bad!

I finished the run and cool-down walk with Tabby before Steven had to leave for work, although he was not there for my shower (one makes these compromises). I had run the same length of time I had on Monday and last Saturday, 25 minutes. Taking Tuesday through Friday off was perhaps not the best thing to do. In my defense, I voted on Tuesday, I spent a lot of time Wednesday walking up and down my yard dismantling my container garden, and it rained on Thursday.

But what a lovely feeling to have run and made my blog post before 8 a.m. on a Saturday. Bring on the rest of the day!

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Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary and tagged blog post, Saturday, weather. Bookmark the permalink.

Mohawk Valley Girl

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