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!
