Category Archives: running commentary

I Didn’t Wait Till Fall

Posted on July 20, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

So when I got out of bed this morning, knowing that I should run but that I did not want to, I heard thunder and said, “I’m off the hook!”

Halfway through my second cup of coffee I realized it had not thundered again, and I had no excuse. I hadn’t run in at least a week and was feeling rather bad about it. On the other hand, I have a fairly athletic cousin who does NOT run in the summer time, too hot. Couldn’t I follow his example and bag it till fall? Oh, how good would that feel, wait till the temperature cools off and the humidity is gone. Fall, my favorite season. I could start running again in the fall.

Yesterday was the last day of the hideous heat wave, according to certain weather reports. Today should be better, tomorrow better yet. Last night, in fact, brought some cooler temperatures. The fan in my window was not merely pushing around hot air. Phew! Still, it’s not fall. I could wait till fall.

However, as I sat playing solitaire and finishing my coffee, I started to sweat from the humidity. Now I wanted a shower. Well, I showered after four o’clock yesterday afternoon. If I was going to shower again this morning, I had better work up a better sweat than from just playing cards. I got on the running gear.

The temperature was a little better than expected. I had been afraid that waiting till after seven as I had, it might be getting hot already. I was soon feeling the effects of the humidity, though. Ugh. Well, one thing I know is how to persevere.

I struck out down German Street, my goal being the hill at Valley Health. A good enough hill after taking time off. I crossed the street, to avoid what I recalled as some egregious mud further down.

As I ran, I reflected that I had been telling myself I “should” run. Obviously that was silly of me. I’ve spoken about that before: as soon as you think you should do something, it is the last thing you want to do! I thought to myself, “I knew it was a good idea to go running.” In fact, I had said no such thing to myself earlier, and that no doubt explained my reluctance to wriggle into the sports bras. Now that I was out and doing it, I reflected that it was a good idea, and I was happy.

Then I saw some mud even more egregious than what I had crossed the street to avoid. After being really annoyed with myself for forgetting this stretch (after all, I knew that was where the flood had done some pretty extensive damage), I went out in the road to avoid it.

And realized I was NOT on the left side facing traffic. OH NO! That is one of my pet soap boxes. I bitch all the time about people walking and running in the road (often when there is a perfectly respectable sidewalk) in the same direction as cars, sometimes two or three abreast. Grrr! At least there was only one of me and not much traffic. Cross the street to maintain my integrity? Oh, it was less than half a block. I picked up the pace and got back on the sidewalk as soon as I could.

I’d been running a little over ten minutes when I remembered, I like to run. I was coated with sweat in an uncomfortable fashion and I was not running very fast, but dammit, I liked it! Who saw that coming? Not me!

I continued through the streets of Herkimer, feeling pretty good about myself. I almost slipped in some mud and landed on my butt, but avoided that disaster. I took short shuffly steps through the mud after that. Soon I came to a stretch of bare sidewalk and lengthened my pace.

Oh, I was going great! I achieved that loping stride the young folks seem to do with no effort. At least, in my head it was that stride. In reality it was probably only a little longer and faster than my usual middle-aged shuffle. But I enjoyed it.

I ended up running the same length of time as the last time I ran. Incidentally, it was over two weeks ago; I looked it up when I got back home. Tabby graciously walked my cool-down with me. As we walked, the most delicious cool breeze blew in my face. What a great start to my Saturday!

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Patriotic Run

Posted on July 5, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

In honor of Independence Day, I wore my ARMY t-shirt to go for this morning’s run.

I had originally thought I would be running every day this week, but with the flood… not so much. Monday and Wednesday I had to conserve my physical resources for hauling ruined junk out of the basement. Tuesday I had thought to do the same, but the basement had filled with water again. By the time I realized my little sump pump was not going to empty it in a timely fashion, it was too hot to run. I went to Curves instead, arguably a more strenuous workout.

Thursday (today), my husband is working from eight to 4:30, then from five to ten (five to ten sounds like a prison sentence, which is analogous to many jobs). I thought for what I planned on doing in his absence, I could be a little tired.

It was already warm when I started out, over 70 degrees with humidity. Yet I felt sure I could rock it. Then again, there was nothing wrong with taking a shorter run than planned, especially as the week was not turning into the work-out paradise I had envisioned.

I turned left from North Bellinger onto German Street, going toward where some of the flood damage was pretty bad. That section of German had been closed off all week, so I knew I might have to make a turn before too long.

Oh, it did look bad. A lovely stone fence in front of a beautiful historic-looking brick house is no more. The sidewalk got a little dicey at that point, but I was left side facing traffic as I went out into the road.

Then I saw that I could not loop around German onto Church Street as I had planned, because the bridge was closed. I was about to say I never heard about the bridge being closed, but I bet it did and I just don’t know what that bridge is called. It isn’t a very big bridge. Other than turn around the only thing I could do was go through the high school parking lot and see if their little foot bridge was still in use. It didn’t seem likely. I turned around.

I ran past all the side streets till I was beyond the flood zone. I ran down residential streets, enjoying flower beds that were not a muddy mess and curb sides not covered with people’s ruined stuff. I thought of pictures of New Orleans after Katrina and New Jersey after Sandy, and I felt fortunate.

But running was not getting any easier, because it was damn humid. I was not going to run as far as I had run on Sunday, 34 minutes, in case you wanted to know. I got back on my own street. How long would I run? Well, I would go a little way past the house, just to make it a full number. It seems a little silly to say I ran for 28 minutes 44 seconds.

Then I saw some neighbors talking on a porch, right about the time I wanted to be turning around. We exchanged good mornings and I kept running. I couldn’t very well run up to them, say good morning and run back home. Now that I’m writing this, I can’t quite explain my reluctance, but there it was. I ran around the block.

As I ran I reflected on the number of things people do just to keep from looking foolish. Like when I recently raised almost $600 for St. Baldrick’s Day, so I wouldn’t look silly in front of the other bald people (I don’t think any of them were concerned, but still). Then I thought, whatever makes you do the right thing.

So I made my 34 minutes, and my cold shower felt pretty refreshing (it will be a long while before my hot water heater is replaced and we get the gas turned back on). And I deem it patriotic enough on Independence Day to write about something I learned to love in the army.

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Running from the Flood

Posted on June 29, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Oh, I just noticed, I did NOT do a post about Thursday’s run. Therefore I am certain a Saturday Running Commentary will be welcomed by such readers who like to read about a run (you know who you are).

Steven and I were up early, having not slept very well. Steven, because he was obsessing over how we are so clueless about flooded basements and such. Me, because the neighbors were all sump-pumping their basements. Not that it was so loud (and I would NEVER fault my neighbors for making noise for such a reason even if it was), but it got me to obsessing about how I really ought to be doing something about pumping out my own basement.

So we got up early for a Saturday and got some coffee, available to us because I had sensibly boiled some water before our gas got cut off. Oh dear, halfway through the third paragraph and I haven’t gotten to the run yet. Well, I thought I would include some background on my mood and motivations.

In the first place, I thought some endorphins might help. More importantly, we have no hot water since the gas is off. I thought that after a hot, sweaty run, a cold shower would feel pretty good. So off I went.

The sidewalks on North Bellinger are covered with mud. Well, I like to run off-road. I told myself this was just nature’s way of bringing off-road to me. I ran carefully, because mud is slippery. My middle-aged shuffle served me well. No mishaps. Oh, I know, the cold shower would wash off the mud as well as the sweat. I still didn’t want to take a header into a puddle.

Two blocks from my house the sidewalks magically cleared. I had a nice run through residential streets on bare paths. I started to get tired a little over halfway through my intended time, but I persevered.

At last it was time to head in the general direction of Bellinger Street. Oh dear, would it be muddier this way or this way? Having at last attained the bare sidewalks, I was loath to give them up. That actually may have lengthened my run considerably, if I had run around and around looking for bare sidewalks. However, I sternly told myself there was GOING to be mud, just go with it.

A little trickier was the cool-down walk with my schnoodle, Tabby. She is getting to be quite the dirty dog as it is; I didn’t want to make her too much worse. We accomplished it with some back and forth walking, utilizing the apartment building at the corner of our street. It is set up on a little hill and the sidewalks leading to the front doors are bare.

I felt better after my run, and my cold shower was an invigorating blast. As the day progresses, we are slowly dealing with our other flooding woes. At the risk of becoming tiresome, I may write about them in tomorrow’s blog post as well. As always, I hope you’ll stay tuned.

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First Summer Run

Posted on June 23, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I hope it’s not too soon for another running post, but after all, Saturday Running Commentary.

The hot weather arrived just barely in time for summer in the Mohawk Valley, so I sensibly got out early. It’s a good time to run anyways, because of less traffic. I hoped it would be an enjoyable run, especially since I spent a good portion of yesterday feeling quite awful. I had high hopes.

It seemed to go pretty well. I almost didn’t run any hills but decided I could handle the one out Main Street. Well, that part wasn’t much fun. At one point I could have stayed sedately on the left side facing traffic, made a 90 degree turn at the proper place and continued on the left side of the street. Instead I cut across the center of the intersection, feeling like quite the rebel. In my defense, there were no cars in sight or hearing.

I passed the house where I’ve seen — and pretended not to see — the lady in her nightgown letting her dog out. Neither she nor the dog were in evidence, so I took the opportunity to admire her black wrought iron lawn furniture. Not so comfy to sit it but oh so decorative, especially with a pot of red flowers on the table.

As I ran down the hill back to civilization, I heard a vehicle behind me. I wasn’t worried, because I was left side facing traffic this time. He would be on the OTHER side of the road. Well, that (insert bad word of your choice) in a pick-up truck (to add insult to injury; I love pick-up trucks) was straddling the center line! What was his excuse for that! Early though it was, I thought it was a little late for him to be still drunk from partying last night. Then again, what do I know?

Back in the village proper I stuck to residential streets with sidewalks. Plenty of four way stops when I had to cross a street, but not much traffic anyways. When I went to cross Prospect, I started to slow down to let a car at the stop sign go, but the lady waved me on. I gave the thank-you wave and hurried across.

“You go, girlfriend!” yelled the lady in the car. I think I recognized the voice as a lady from Curves, but I kept running so did not check.

When I got closer to home I saw Nicky, one of my canine friends, out walking with his person. I picked up the pace and crossed the street.

“I have to pet Nicky,” I said. “He’s such a good dog.”

“How’s your dog?” asked his person.

“Oh, she’s a sweetie. I’ll be taking her for a walk in a bit.”

“Before it gets too hot,” she said.

I agreed and ran on. Tabby was happy to accompany me on my cool-down walk. I felt terrific. I think I sweated out all of yesterday’s light-headedness. If only I don’t get another sinus headache as the day wears on, my life will be perfect.

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I Guess They’re Not Really Suburbs

Posted on June 15, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I begin my Saturday with many things that I need to or want to do (no point in being overly dramatic and saying I HAVE to do all these things). Running and writing my blog post are near the top of the list. With the newly re-instated Saturday Running Commentary, I saw the chance to multi-task (my computer wants me to not hyphenate that, but I like the hyphen).

Of course, if I had one of them there smart phones, I could truly multi-task and post while I run. I know a fellow who at least makes Facebook posts while he runs. I am unlikely to do any such thing, even if I do ever upgrade my cellular experience. Never mind, I ran, enjoying my in-the-head narration, and now I am sitting at my computer, trying to remember the best parts for your entertainment.

I had a minor crisis before I even left the house of not being able to decide where to run. I’m not running for very long yet, so that limits my choices. I’m trying to run hills, so I can build up. Finally I decided on the hill by Valley Health, then perhaps some minor upgrades in the suburbs beyond.

At least, I call them the suburbs. It is just a purely residential area without sidewalks. None of the houses look very old. That is, not over 50 years old, I guess. That’s young in house years. I don’t really know from houses. Just that there are none of the huge old mansions I enjoy walking by in the village proper.

As soon as I left the house, I was aware of my hips. I felt like my love handles must stick out at least a foot in each direction. It made me think of some rather unsavory PSAs I sometimes hear on WVHC which postulate people’s body parts falling off due to increased exercise. I think they’re really gross. In one traffic is stopped due to somebody’s big old hips (or is it butt?) in the middle of the highway. In another a guy’s double chin falls off into the soup on a first date. That’s nasty! I know from experience that is NOT how weight loss happens. Yes, I KNOW they’re trying to make a point. Their point loses its impact by being anatomically impossible and they make at least me stop listening with these disgusting mental images (or perhaps I suffer from too vivid an imagination).

That was a long paragraph. Oh, there is one of those PSAs that I find completely realistic. A man calls a radio station to dedicate good-bye song to a relationship that didn’t last. It was with his big belly. He started doing things like taking the stairs, and they “started seeing less and less of each other.” THAT’S healthy weight loss! Thank you!

Unfortunately, thinking of all that while I ran only kept me occupied for a couple of blocks. I tried to feel happy about the definite upgrade as I ran out German Street. After all, more effort is a good thing. I ran by the turn to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC), the hill to which I aspire, and thought, maybe in a week or two. The hill by Valley Health posed no problems, and I ran on into the residential area.

I have always thought that many of these areas are laid out based on a plate of spaghetti. None of the roads are straight and they intersect each other in a strange, unpredictable fashion. It makes for an interesting run if you are not familiar with the area. Since I have not run there since last fall, that was me.

Yes, I got a little lost. I turned down a couple of streets that had a slight upgrade then went back in the direction I thought Valley Health was. Of course nothing looked familiar. Then I realized the street I was on came out nowhere near where I thought it did. Oh dear. Try this way. At last I saw Lou Ambers Drive. Yes! I know where that goes! The funny thing was, when I got to it I realized I was on the opposite side of it from what I thought I was. How did that happen? No matter, it was pretty obvious which way to turn now. I headed for home.

I suddenly see that I am over 700 words, and I thought of a lot more things to say about this run. I even left out some stuff about what happened so far! I could make a joke about being pretty long-winded for running out of breath so easily, but I actually have not had a problem breathing when I run for a while now. Instead, I’ll just end with the image of me headed home. Good run, long post. On to the rest of my Saturday!

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Oh, All Right, I’ll Run

Posted on June 12, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Whenever I can’t think of anything else to write about, I tell myself, just go running after work and write about that. This has the added advantage of encouraging me to run. I do like to run, but there are days it’s just not that easy to get started.

Today was one of them. I sat at work and looked at the rain. When I had seen rain in the forecast, I had decided that if it did not rain, I would run. If it rained, I was off the hook. I later thought that if I left work and it was raining, I would be so happy I didn’t have to run, I would do Shawshank Redemption (you know, how in that movie Tim Robbins stands with his arms outstretched in the middle of a downpour because he is so happy that… well, I don’t want to give anything away if you haven’t seen the movie).

As I was about to leave work I mentioned this to a couple of co-workers I usually walk out with. Previously when I had been debating whether or not to run, one of them had said, “Go an extra mile for us!” I had said, “I’ll be sure to do that! If I go,” thinking I would not. Incidentally, I did run that day (it was last Thursday) and later told my co-workers I had run the first mile for them.

Today, one co-worker happily pointed out that it had stopped raining. When I got outside, I said, “Oh, no, look, it is so raining!”

“It’s just misting! You can run!”

“Yes, but Tabby won’t want to walk my cool-down with me. Then I won’t get my cool-down.” Surely any excuse would do.

“The rain will cool you off!”

“Oh, all right, I’ll run. But I won’t go an extra mile for you two!” They agreed to the stipulation.

Let me tell you, the run was not that great, whoever I was running it for. I felt like I was dragging my ass along. I was a little surprised I didn’t actually feel it hit the pavement. I told myself, a little grimly, that I could be happy that at least I was able to drag my ass along. Talk about a small favor to be thankful for!

It stopped raining, so I debated incorporating that into my headline. That kept me distracted for at least a block. Then I admired some well-kept houses, especially with flowers in the front lawns or in flower boxes. One house with a severely overgrown lawn. Now Steven doesn’t have to feel so bad about ours. Some lovely porch furniture. Wouldn’t it be nice to be sitting on a porch right now? Well, if the seat was dry.

For part of the run my legs felt quite macaroni-ish, but I persevered. For one thing, walk or run, I had to get home somehow. Running takes less time. Not a whole lot less the way I run, but what are you going to do?

I ended up running for the same length of time I ran on Sunday, so I thought that was pretty good. I had set out with the idea that I would just run. I would be happy about it even if it was a very short run. Well, I don’t know that I exactly feel happy now, but there is a certain satisfaction.

With the run if not with the blog post, actually. I realize I left out a lot of the blow-by-blow narration that was running through my head at the time. I suppose that is always the case or it would be a dauntingly long post (for you as well as for me). But is the stuff I put in as good as the stuff I left out? I suppose we’ll never know.

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Sunday Running Commentary

Posted on June 9, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Headache gone, no rain, no ideas for a blog post, everything was encouraging me to run this morning. I was alert and ready to find stuff to comment about.

It was good running temperature when I started out, not too warm, not too cold. I wanted to cross German Street and run up the hill out Main Street. Traffic was against me. Well, two trucks, anyways. What was that all about? At quarter after seven on a Sunday morning! No matter, there’s a four way stop at the intersection of Main and German.

Hmmm… no traffic now. Should I cross in the middle of the block or wait for the crosswalk? I decided to wait. Sure enough, a car reached the intersection at the same time I did. The nice lady driving waved me across. I waved “Thank you,” and she waved “You’re welcome!” I thought as I ran on that she probably thought she should encourage a middle-aged bald lady to keep running.

Then I wondered if she had noticed my bald head at all. For anyone just tuning in, last Sunday I participated in a St. Baldrick’s Day event. They shaved my head after I went around asking family and friends to donate to children’s cancer research. My Facebook profile picture is bald now, too. My mom told me that a cousin had noticed it and asked if I was sick. Well, the hair is growing back already, so I probably won’t startle anybody else.

Up the hill at the end of Main Street. The sign says it is a dead end, but a pedestrian can get through. I continued up the hill a little longer but took the second opportunity to turn off. Phew! I am working up to running the hill at Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). That is a major hill, which I used to run on a weekly basis, just to be cool. My friend Phyllis brags on me, “She runs up the hill to HCCC!” So I think I’d better start doing it again.

Oh, downhill is nice. I enjoyed the downhill part. I saw a lady in a nightgown taking her dog out for a business meeting in the yard. She quickly turned back towards the house. I pretended not to see her, being that she was in her nightgown after all. I was distracted by a profusion of peonies in a yard across the street anyways. I love peonies.

I ran on, admiring various porches with decorations. Hanging plants, nice porch furniture, little statues. I saw a very nice carved bear in a front garden. It was chained to the porch. I didn’t blame the people for that. Ooh, there was a big lilac bush. Must get me some lilac shoots. My sister who lives in Marcy has some. It takes a few years, but eventually I, too, can smell the lilacs.

My run did not get too uncomfortable till towards the end. My strength was giving out. Well, sinus medicines often have a detrimental effect on your body, and I did take some stuff yesterday for my headache. I persevered and made the time I had set for myself (ten percent longer than I ran last weekend, per advice from the guys at The Sneaker Store in New Hartford, NY).

Walking my cool-down with my schnoodle Tabby felt great. I had worked up a sweat while running, but the cool breeze through the stubble on my head was nice. We saw some neighbors who Tabby particularly likes setting up for a garage sale. Tabby insisted we stop and chat. At least, the people chatted, the dog got petted.

I was glad I had gone for my run. I looked at my week ahead to plan further runs. That hill up to HCCC is mine!

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The Return of Running Commentary

Posted on June 1, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I have missed my Saturday Running Commentary. In fact, I’ve missed running. I keep picturing particular streets I used to run down and thinking, “Damn.” I have no excuse for stopping when I did. And the reason I stayed stopped for so long is simple inertia: an object at rest tending to stay at rest. In my defense, I was busy with a play, and then I got sick, and I have been going to Curves. Oh, I know, excuses, excuses. Let’s get on with the post.

That was a long first paragraph. I usually don’t do that.

Where was I? Ah yes, about to run. I got up Saturday at 4:30 a.m., actually earlier than I have to get up for work. My husband Steven has an early shift today. I thought, perfect, I’ll run as soon as he leaves. It’ll still be cool and quiet. I followed this plan.

Previously when I have written about running, I haven’t liked to say how long I run. I’m worried it’ll hurt my street cred. But today I thought, others who run similarly short times may feel encouraged. And those who are apt to point and laugh are probably going to do so regardless (you know who you are).

I hadn’t done anything week before last due to being sick. This past week, however, I returned to Curves and put in three workouts. That’s about 30 minutes of fairly intense exercise. I thought, therefore, that I could probably run for 30 minutes. After all, I do not run at an intense rate. This could work. I set out.

And almost immediately wondered if after two months off (two months? Eek!), running for a full half hour was the right thing to do. Maybe 15 minutes would be better. After all, start slow, build up. Isn’t that the right way to do it? And how about my original plan to run up the hill by Valley Health? Surely one could start out with a level run and feel good about it.

I decided to compromise. I would run the hill at whatever slow rate seemed good at the time. As for total run time, I would see what happened. 15 minutes would be acceptable. 20 would be better. If by some weird chance I made 30, well, woo hoo for me. I wouldn’t expect such miracles.

The weather report expected a scorcher today. Or maybe a steamer. You know, humidity. In any case, by 6:30 this morning the sun was up and I was soon feeling the heat. That was OK. It wasn’t too bad, especially when I could find some shade. I was going to rock that hill.

It wasn’t much fun at first. German Street goes gradually uphill as you approach Valley Health from my street. You wouldn’t think these subtle upgrades would be a problem, but I was really feeling it.

I saw another runner coming towards me, on the road. I was on the sidewalk. I prefer to run on the sidewalk away from cars, but I sometimes feel a little self-conscious about it. It seems like “real” runners run in the road. I pondered what made a “real” runner (yes, I put in in quotes in my head as I thought about it). I waved when we passed each other. The other runner said good morning in a perfectly friendly fashion.

Up the hill. Oof. I made it. Only seven minutes into the run. That was good, right? Now I was all done with hills for the day. The run got a lot more fun after that. Well, maybe not fun, but at least I reached the “I can rock this” stage.

I went for 23 minutes, followed by a 12 minute cool-down walk with my schnoodle Tabby (she won’t run with me, but she loves the cool-down walk). I thought that was pretty good. It’s a rebuilding year for me. I had no thoughts of running the Boilermaker anyways. All I really want is to be in 5K shape by the DARE run in August. I can rock that.

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Finally Back to Running

Posted on April 7, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

Running Commentary is back, at least for today.

I had started running again in February, but I allowed myself to be discouraged by the weather, which turned cold and snowy. And I gave in to my discouragement. This is what I reflected on partway through my run: I gave in to discouragement. It is difficult to avoid feeling discouraged at times, but we must carry on. And I don’t mean cry and carry on, but I’ve done that too.

Be that as it may, I didn’t get to run till this afternoon, largely because I had made a plan to go shopping with my sister, Cheryl. We wanted to purchase new outfits to wear when we go wine tasting next weekend (preview of coming attractions). As often happens when I try on clothes, I felt fat. But I found a wicked good bargain at a consignment store in New Hartford, NY (another preview of coming attractions).

I figured, no problem, shop in the morning, run in the afternoon. It’ll be warmer in the afternoon anyways. It was supposed to get up to almost 60. Woohoo!

When I got home it was time for lunch, so I ate. Then I remembered that HALO (Helping Animals Live Organization) was having their trash to treasures sale till four. I had to help out the kitty-cats, so I hurried down (yet another preview of coming attractions).

And was very annoyed that it was STILL cold! What’s that all about? The sun was bright, but the wind was mean. I felt very ill-used.

Still, feeling fat is some motivation. Also, there is a 5K May 4 for Spring Farm Cares I kind of said I would run in (yes, another preview of coming attractions). Feeling a little sad not to put on shorts and a short-sleeved t-shirt, I found some long johns and a long-sleeved Army t-shirt that is good to run in. For one thing, it is long enough to cover my butt, which nobody needs to see.

The long johns are white with pink and blue flowers. I like to wear them under skirts. Then I can say to people, “You wanna see my underwear? Woowoo!” Lifting my skirt over one knee. Always gets a laugh.

So I set out. It wasn’t too bad in the sun. I thought I should remember this in a couple months when I’ll be trying to run entirely in the shade. Ah, perspective. At least the sidewalks were completely bare and dry. Let us always be thankful when we can.

I ran the hill by Valley Health. And said hello to a fellow in a cool cowboy hat headed towards his car. He said hi. Coming down the hill, I waved at a phone company guy in a cherry picker on his way down from doing something to the wire. He said hello. I do like to greet people.

There is a light where the street whose name escapes me (where I ran up the hill) crosses German. Would it stay red? Would it turn green? Would that big truck heading towards it wait if it did turn green? These moments of suspense add to the enjoyment of my run. The truck turned right, making the debate a moot point, and the light stayed red with no further traffic in sight.

I ran by the high school, then thought to go down the street near the athletic fields. Unfortunately, I saw a group of young people on that street near their cars (it is kind of parking area as well as a street). I thought about my flowered long johns and went another way.

My run ended up lasting 30 minutes. Since I had not run in about a month, I thought that was pretty bold. More importantly, it proved I can run a 5K. At least, at the rate I was going, it would no doubt take me longer to run five kilometers. However, if I can run 30 minutes, I can run 40. I just won’t stop.

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Running Commentary to the Rescue

Posted on February 24, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

I started running again earlier this month but have not been having a great success of it. Among other things, the weather has turned against me.

Just as a side note: I feel a great resistance to including that last sentence. It is quite true that it got extremely cold and many people do not run in extreme weather. Yet when I admit that I am one of them, all I can see in my head are people giving me disdainful looks and getting out miniature violins.

But, you know, I think those people only live in my head, and I’m going to kick them out. I think most actual, non-head-living people can respect others’ choices to run or not to run. I know I would rather applaud people’s accomplishments than denigrate their shortcomings, especially when “shortcomings” means “failure to live up to arbitrary standards set by unreasonable people that live in their heads.”

Well, that was a digression. I had meant this to be a straight running post. I guess sometimes I can’t help but stray into a little half-baked philosophy.

Be that as it may, I decided to run today because it had passed 1 p.m. and I had neither hide nor hair of a blog post. I thought, “Running Commentary will come to my rescue!” (Oh, wait a minute, that is a much better title than “Well, I Had to Write About Something”)

As soon as I made the decision, I felt better. I have missed running. At odd moments I will suddenly think of a street that I only see when I run down it. I miss those streets! Then I think I MUST start running again and continue to work and build myself up, because most of those streets are not a short jaunt from my house (I see those streets all the time).

I got dressed, reminded my schnoodle Tabby that she doesn’t like to run with me, and set out.

The temperature was above freezing, and I could see a few raindrops in the puddles. The snow on the sidewalks was mushy but not yet slushy. I can understand why some people run in the road, but I choose not to. For one thing, on days like this it would have to be the middle of the road or I would be running in puddles. I took the mushy snow.

“It burns more calories,” I told myself. “It takes more effort.” I continued to make the effort.

As I went, I had to think that I probably did not look as if I was running at all. Slogging through the snow, dodging around the puddles — ooh, bare pavement! Awesome! Watch out for that ice. I did not look around and observe houses and yards, as I enjoy to do when I run. I figured it was a good way to end up on my butt if I hit some ice or ankle deep in water if I encountered a puddle.

Some of those puddles were like reservoirs, the snowbanks on either side making effective retaining walls. I confess, I was two blocks beyond the deepest puddle before I came up with “retaining walls.” At first I thought “dams,” but you don’t usually have a dam on either side of a reservoir (and, yes, I said, “Damn!” when I stepped in the reservoir). Well, I like anything that adds interest to my run.

It was really a pretty good run. I added a little bit to the length of time I ran (I always run for a certain length of time rather than a certain distance). I even kind of sort of sprinted at the end. At least, I lengthened my stride and picked up speed. It was awesome! My legs felt long, lean and powerful! I hoped I didn’t hit any stray ice.

Tabby graciously walked around the block with me for my cool down, as usual. When we were almost all the way around, the rain turned to snow and got heavier. How clever of me to get my run in before winter returned.

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