Yesterday (Sunday) I went running with the idea that I would offer Sunday Running Commentary. Instead, as per usual on a Sunday, I wrote some nonsense instead (I always say, go with your strengths). Now the one thing I do not feel like doing is writing. However, the one thing I really, really want to do every day is to publish a blog post. So let’s see what I can do.
I started out shortly after 6 a.m. The sun was not quite up and it was cloudy, so I thought it might be a good idea to wear my reflective vest. After all, safety first. Naturally I started to second guess myself as soon as I left the house (once again going with my strengths). Did I just look silly wearing a road guard vest (as we called them in the army) when I was in fact not running in the road? I probably looked like a huge geek, which in fact is what I am, and not the good kind either.
I crossed German Street and headed right, which is not the direction I have been going lately. Regular readers may recall I have been obsessively running up the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC) this summer, in anticipation of the DARE 5K (I believe I’ve written a few blog posts about it). I thought I might possibly run out Steuben Road. For one thing, there is a pretty good hill there so I would feel bad ass. For another reason, the sidewalk ends, so I would feel a little less silly in my road guard vest.
For the record, I really like my reflective vest, a very thoughtful gift from my sister. I think it is definitely a good thing to wear when the light is dim and/or when running in the road. It is just a bad habit of mine to perpetually feel that I look foolish.
Where was I? Ah yes, still on German Street, when I saw a deer cross the road. How cool is that? She continued up a perpendicular street. I thought to turn there too and see where she went, but when I looked she was standing in the middle of the road looking around. I didn’t want to scare her. Or have her scare me. You never know. That deer might have thought, “Hey, I have hooves. I can take her!”
As I ran on, I tried to remember the name of the street, for my blog post. D, D, something with a D. Dorfman, that was it! The street makes an L and comes out on Steuben. When I got to that place on Steuben I double checked myself. Dorf Street. Silly me. I must have been thinking of Ava Dorfman, a Roman of some note who recently died. She started a senior citizen center which bears her name. I believe my grandmother used to work for her husband, Dr. Dorfman.
Up Steuben I went. It was a worse hill than I thought. When I was done thinking about the deer and Ava Dorfman, I started to notice the weather. It was dreadfully humid. Will anybody get my reference if I tell you I thought, “This humidity is as thick as peanut butter!” “You mean pea soup.” “You eat what you like, and I’ll eat what I like!”
I ran uphill till my watch told me I had been running for 15 minutes. I wanted my total run time to be about a half hour. I’ll go back to increasing it soon, but I didn’t feel like getting too tired yesterday. I ended up doing 33 minutes, which is how long I ran last time. Holding steady is good.
I confess I did not feel particularly bad ass at the end of my run. As usual, I was glad I had run, especially when it started pouring ran shortly after Tabby and I returned from our cool down walk. And, look at this, I seem to have written my blog post. I wonder what else I can get done today.
