I went for a long run this morning and am determined to make a Running Commentary post. First, as often happens, I decided I wasn’t going to run. It was humid, it was going to rain, etc, etc. Then I went.
I turned right at the end of my driveway instead of going towards German Street as I usually do, just for something different. I did not intend to run for long; I often have problems breathing when it’s humid. Besides, it was probably going to rain.
Right away it felt pretty good to run. Maybe I could rock this after all. Maybe run a hill, only that meant changing directions, because there aren’t many hills in Herkimer. Should I or should I not make a detour through Meyer’s Park? The sight of two dogs decided me.
“Can I pet your dogs?” I always ask first, although one dog was already approaching me.
“One’s friendly, one’s not,” their person said. I remembered those dogs; I petted the friendly one once before.
Feeling happy, because I love to pet a nice dog, I continued into the park, taking the V back to Park Avenue and heading towards Caroline Street. I had decided to run up the hill by Valley Health. It took me a while to get there (YES, I run slow, I thought you knew that about me), and I began to wonder how long my run would end up being. Could I even go for 40 minutes, which was my last longest time? Extravagant thought! Just keep running.
The hill wasn’t much fun but I made it to the top and kept going on into the residential area up there. I kept talking myself into going a little further. After all, it wasn’t raining yet. I even went up a minor upgrade, although I avoided a couple more challenging hills.
I stopped at the spring for a quick drink, after some arguments with myself as to whether or not I deserved it. Who am I to judge these things anyways? Soon I was back on German Street , headed for home. As I reached Caroline, I saw two friendly dogs I have encountered before, and they were headed in my direction!
“Good morning!” I said. “I’ve petted these dogs before!”
“Yes, we’ve met before, ” the nice young man said, as the dogs jumped at me as if they remembered too.
I made it to 40 minutes by virtue of going around the block of Henry and Bellinger streets. On Church Street, I saw Chico and Bear, two neighborhood pooches, with their person. I happily crossed the street to pet them and exchange a few words with their Mom.
As I ran up Bellinger I greeted a man standing in front of his house.
“That’ll make you healthy,” he said.
“Either that or it’ll kill me, ” I answered.
Obviously it didn’t kill me. Not yet, anyways, and I felt pretty darn good walking my cool-down. As I make this blog post, the rain is pouring down, so I guess I timed it right. Time to get on with the rest of my day!
