How about a running commentary to break things up? I have not done one of those in a while, for the simple reason that I have not been running. I started again this weekend with two runs on the mini-tramp while taking in a silent movie. I think I mentioned that in my Wrist to Forehead Sunday post. I cravenly did not run Monday or Tuesday, so I knew it would be a very good idea to run today. I also knew I would be very clever about taking myself out of it.
As my work day wore on, I pondered what to do when I got home. Run? Clean house? Not go home but to the store to buy my great-nephew a birthday present (he turns two this week)? I was feeling increasingly downhearted, for many reasons that do not bear repeating. I was also feeling rather bloated, because I am back to eating normally, which, for me, means too much. Obviously running was the right thing to do.
It was not precipitating as I left work, as it had been yesterday (when I did not run). It seemed cold, but that is no deterrent. I have leggings and long sleeves. As soon as I got in the house, Spunky wanted to go for a walk. He only wanted to go to the end of the street and back. I thought it felt chilly. My thermostat said it as 51, well within shorts and short sleeve range for me. I didn’t think it felt 50, but who am I to argue? I put on shorts and short sleeves. Getting a hot flash while I was changing made me feel a little better about the cold, although it made putting on the sports bras a little more awkward (sorry if that was oversharing).
I set out. Normally when I run for the first time after a break, I run up to German Street, turn left, run to Caroline, then down Caroline, up Margaret, down Henry only as far as I need to to complete the time I want to run. I decided to turn right today, just for something different. Then I almost changed my mind, because some kids were walking home from school in that direction. They were on the opposite side of German from me, but I felt self-conscious. Then I told myself to stop being silly; those kids were probably not paying the least attention to me and who cares if they were? I turned right.
The cool air felt good. It really wasn’t cold; I could tell my hands were not going to stiffen up as can happen when it gets below 40. My ears got cold after a while, but I just moved my headband over them. This was great. More to the point, my body was having no problem with the run. My legs and arms pumped along steadily, my breathing was no problem. I could handle this!
I turned down Main Street, because that street can be a little difficult to cross because of traffic. Instead of going all the way down Main, I turned at Church and followed that all the way to the end. I felt pretty pleased with myself: instead of going up and down, I was going back and forth. As I ran, I admired houses, envying screened in porches and noticing who had and had not raked their lawns (not judging, just noticing). Many houses had harvest decorations: scarecrows, pumpkins, corn. I saw a few jack-o-lanterns left over from Halloween. They get really scary looking when they start to rot; their mouths gape open and the insides are all black with mold. Ew!
I ended up running 27 minutes, which I thought was pretty good. I did 30 minutes on each of my mini-tramp runs over the weekend, and I usually do not run as far during the week. I have it in mind to run a 5K in December, and I think I will be just ready for it. I’ll probably write a blog post about it.
Mohawk Valley Girl 