Sometimes, when you want to do something, you just decide to do it, then you do it. Some of you are rolling your eyes saying, “I’ve been TELLING you that!” Others, perhaps also with an eye roll, are asking me if it is really, truly that easy. My good friends (I hope you know who you are) are saying, “Oh, good for you, Cindy, what did you do?”
I have been trying, without much notable success, to keep from prosing on about my dreadful headaches (my computer seems to think “prosing” is not a word, but I’m sure I’ve seen it used elsewhere). However, to convey my real sense of accomplishment today, I must emphasize that I have been suffering terribly from painful headaches, often accompanied by nausea.
These headaches often begin in the middle of the night, my most hated kind of headache. I mean, if you get a headache during the day, you feel that in the last resort you can always lie down to try to get rid of it. If you wake up with it, what are you going to do? If you wake up with it in the middle of the night, go back to sleep with it, and wake up with it feeling even worse, I think you may be forgiven for feeling extremely ill-used.
And that is all the whining about my headaches that I have been trying so hard to keep out of the blog. I am truly mortified. Is anybody still reading? Should I erase the last two paragraphs and start over again? Should I mention or refrain from mentioning that I have a pounding headache now which is making it difficult to write? Should I further mention that I am running out of adjectives to describe my headaches?
What a big, fat baby I am. My apologies. At least you can all feel a frisson of virtue that YOU do not complain so much about your aches and pains
Be all that as it may, the last time I ran was Christmas Day, when I took a short run in the cold followed by, you guessed it, a worsening of my headache. I have walked and shoveled snow for exercise since then. I did not want to wait too long to begin running again. When Steven left for work shortly before 9:30 this morning (New Year’s Day; ignore the date under the title), I got ready and set out.
It was snowing and just above freezing temperature, so I dressed extra warmly. I had it in my head to run up the hill to Herkimer College (which I persist in referring to as HCCC). I had meant to run up that hill BEFORE 2016, but one does not always meet one’s goals and I find it is best to refrain from beating oneself up but to keep striving. I turned down German Street, picking my way down the icy sidewalk. It was not glare ice, but thick, uneven ice, the kind you can easily turn your ankle on.
The falling snow was pretty. It would have been a nice day for a walk with a dog. I felt sad all over again, missing my dear departed schnoodle, Tabby. At least I had the happiness of knowing her.
Would I really run up the hill to the college? I was out here running at all, I thought that was pretty good. I could probably feel pleased with myself no matter what I did, short run, long run, no hill, little hill… hill by Valley Health? Back way to HCCC? I pondered as I went. I can’t say I was rocking it as I ran, but it wasn’t too painful either.
If this was in a book, I thought, it would be very important to make it to the top of the hill. If I made it to the top of the hill, it would mean I would meet all my goals for 2016. I would finish my novel, do a great job directing for Ilion Little Theatre, lose 15 pounds, clean my house, grow a vegetable garden… And if I got halfway up the hill and turned around, I would probably be homeless by March, friendless and despised.
I knew, of course, that I was being silly. For one reason, if I started running up the hill to HCCC, I was going to make it to the top. I pretty much always do.
Hey, I just noticed something: I am over 700 words already. That is a long blog post for me. I’m going to sign off here and make this a two parter (what, parter isn’t a word either? What’s that all about, computer?). Did I make to the top of the hill? Did I try? Did I continue to get silly? Tune in tomorrow, for the first Saturday Running Commentary of 2016!
Mohawk Valley Girl 