It has not been a good week for running. Monday I was melancholy, Tuesday I had rehearsal, Wednesday we got our taxes done (more melancholy there, too, but never mind that), and that bring us to Non-Sequitur Thursday. I am training for the Boilermaker 15K. I was determined to run.
The weather report said we might be getting freezing rain or snow or some such stuff tonight, but nothing had started when I got home from work shortly after 3 p.m. My thermostat said it was 45 degrees out. That is my cut-off temperature for shorts and short sleeves. I hesitated, though, because I can’t say I’m really back in shape yet, and it is just getting to 45 degrees. I would have felt better at 46 degrees. I compromised on leggings that came just below the knee and a short-sleeved t-shirt. A wide headband could cover my ears. I put my sweatshirt and a bottle of water on the deck for my cool-down walk and set out.
A lot of the snow that Stella dumped on us has gone; the sidewalks were mostly bare and dry. I could rock this. I turned left onto German Street, to do my usual down Caroline, up Margaret, down Henry, up Bellinger route. I was moving pretty slowly, but you’ll definitely have that after three days off. The temperature was not bad at all.
Until the wind picked up, which it soon did. No matter, I would just keep running till it warmed me up. I find that works better for legs than for arms and hands, especially hands. It was still no matter, because I was determined to keep running. I concentrated on how much I appreciate bare, dry sidewalks. I made nothing of the few puddles. I ran through or around some remaining snow.
At one point, two little kids were playing in front of a house while their mother sat on the steps. The little boy was drawing on the sidewalk with chalk. The little girl was moving shovelfuls of show, annoying the boy by dropping some on his picture.
“I’ll try to step around your art,” I said. I also had to dodge the little girl, who stepped right in front of me. Luckily we did not collide and I ran on.
A little later, I passed a man and said hello. He said, “Boilermaker?”
“I hope so,” I answered.
“Good for you!”
I ran on before I had time to say thanks. I wondered why I said I hoped so instead of “Damn skippy” or “You bet!” After all, I am pretty damn sure I will run the 15K and make it through the whole thing. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that shit happens, and those who are too sure of themselves sometimes come to grief. I kept running, realizing that this would help keep me from coming to grief on the Boilermaker. This is me, getting into shape, I told myself.
It was quite pleasant when the wind was still, which was not often. However, I managed to run for 29 minutes, equal to my last longest time. And I see now that I have over 500 words, a longer blog post than I have managed lately. I say not bad for Thursday of a melancholy week.
