However much you may enjoy doing something, well, sometimes it’s just easier not to. Add to the mix that the thing you enjoy is good for you and suddenly there are MANY reasons not to do it! And I am beginning to see that all reasons against doing something, however compelling they may seem at the time, ultimately boil down to, it was easier not to. All this by way of saying, I haven’t run since last Saturday (when I wrote a blog post about it). I may sometime write a whole post about why we don’t do things that are good for us and that we enjoy, and perhaps an analysis of “it was easier not to” vs. “it seemed like a good idea at the time,” but for today, I will content myself with a run of the mill (see what I did there?) Running Commentary.
I was running with a bottle of water in my hand, because I had a couple of glasses of wine last night and wanted to be sure I stayed hydrated. I must say I enjoy having a sip of water during a run. My original plan had been to run away from Lou Ambers Drive and Herkimer College (previously known in this space as HCCC), because on my last run I had gone up that impressive hill. However, I knew I would want to refill my bottle at the spring. Oh, just run up the hill again, I told myself.
In general I don’t like to mention that I thought about doing something bad-ass when I ultimately decide not to do it. Today, though, I err on the side of truth: I thought about running up that hill but decided not to. When I got to Brookfield Park (previously known in this space as The Unknown Park), I went into it, up a nice little hill. We like little hills. Why kill myself after taking a week and a day off, I reasoned. This would be a pleasant run and still get me to the spring (Get Me to the Spring On Time, isn’t that a song?).
As I got into the park, I saw another runner up on a big hill on the other side of the athletic field. I’ve run up there once before; it’s steep. I’ll do it again, but not today. The other runner was wearing a shirt the same color as mine, safety green, but he was not close enough for me to remark that we were twins. A dog was with him and came a little towards me, looking interested. I do like to pet a dog but it seemed we were not going to cross paths. The other runner yelled to his dog to come. I looked away and kept running, so as not to entice the animal. Sometimes you just don’t get to pet a dog.
I ran on into the park, over the little bridge to the picnic area and down the path into the woods. It is a very pleasant run, with the brook babbling on one side and a hill with trees rising up on the other. When I was younger, I would have wanted to climb up to the ridge. I’d still like to do that sometime, but today I was running. Soon the ground sloped up again and I was coming out onto the back road to the college.
By judicious sipping, I made my water last till a block or so before the spring. How I love real spring water. I pretty much ran directly home from there, going past the house twice to make my run last 35 minutes, the same amount of time as my last run. For the first time since last June, a nice little dog walked my cool-down with me. My legs felt pretty terrific. I realize I can’t go all week without running, but there is no point in worrying about what is past. All I can do is try to do better next week. Maybe I can write better blog posts as well.
Mohawk Valley Girl 