Mohawk Valley Girl

Saturday Running Commentary is BACK! Yes! I ran this morning! It was awesome!

OK, it wasn’t really awesome, but it didn’t suck. That puts it in the Win column. I got up around 5:30, when I had expected to sleep in till six. I hadn’t put out running clothes but I knew right where they were. I got into them and out the door before I could talk myself out of it.

I wore my reflective vest, because sunrise wasn’t for another hour. I had on shorts and t-shirt, because my thermostat said it was 51 degrees outside. Just a couple of days ago we had frost warnings, but you’ll have that this time of year. Off I went. It didn’t feel too cold. I headed down German Street. It was the direction I most often take, but I reflected that it couldn’t feel too familiar since I had not been running in almost two weeks (HAS it been that long? I am not inclined to look at a calendar and figure it out).

The nice thing about returning to running is that you can do a short, easy run and not feel guilty about it. I know, some of you probably think I should feel guilty about returning to running and not keeping it up to begin with. I maintain that regret is a colossal waste of time. I was not there to worry about the past! I was there to further my weight-loss goals and perhaps get a blog post out of it.

And my legs were not happy with me. They have felt rather awful lately. When I took Tabby for a walk last night all my legs wanted to do was stretch out along the couch or bed and lie still. I kept it up for a decent amount of time anyways. It didn’t kill me.

I got near Valley Health and considered running up the hill. I decided against it. I would keep going for at least 20 minutes but not necessarily try for over 30. I had been running between 33 and 38 minutes the last few times I ran but I was doing the begin again thing this morning. Also, I intended to take at least one good long walk with Tabby later, so I would be getting some exercise.

About ten minutes into the run, my legs started to feel not so bad. They still weren’t happy with me, but at least they were less vocal in their complaints. I told myself I could rock this, but it was more intellectual knowledge than physical confidence. Still, I kept going and that’s the important thing.

I noticed more houses with lights on than I usually see at 3:30 in the morning, so that was nice. Still a lot of dark windows. Lucky bums sleeping in. I turned down Prospect Street rather than going to Main. I’ve mentioned Main Street’s “reputation.” I’ve never encountered anything untoward during daylight hours, though, so I will probably run down it in the dark one day soon, just to feel bad-ass.

I saw a person up ahead of me pushing a grocery cart. What was that all about? Maybe some homeless person collecting bottles and cans? He crossed the street and I thought I saw him head towards somebody’s trash can. I didn’t look too closely. I don’t need to get into a fight with a guy pushing a shopping cart. I turned down the first side street I came to. That worked out, because I entered where a sign said, “Do Not Enter.” You know how I love to be a rebel.

A glance at my watch told me I would not surpass 20 minutes if I went home from here, so I went by my street and on for a couple more blocks. I heard voices before I turned left. Who was that? Three young kids walking down the street. How to feel middle-aged and dumb: run on the sidewalk in a reflective vest while three kids (they might have been teenagers or early 20s) walk down the middle of the road three abreast wearing dark clothes. They ignored me, to which I did not take offense.

I ended up running for 26 minutes. The cool down walk around the block with Tabby felt better than the run, but my legs complained about that, too. Yes, I said they stopped complaining but neglected to mention when they started up again. I guess there’s no point in paying too much attention to petty complaints.