Thursday, November 20, 2014

Random thoughts on the run

Last week I wrote a post about things I think about when I run. Today my thoughts went a little deeper. Probably because today's run hurt. A lot. I wanted to quit so many times.


I started out in the 20 degree cold and immediately thought about turning around. That wind was biting. My legs felt heavy this morning. As I ran along the frontage road, I passed the apartment complex near my neighborhood and the maintenance man on his golf cart. He was picking up trash...from the golf cart. Smoking a cigarette too. I wondered if the cigarette kept him warm. I thought about smoking. I've never smoked a cigarette! Seriously. 

I'm going to try this on my next run!
I moved forward down the sidewalk and as I approached the crosswalk, I had to stop for a car that wouldn't stop for me. In Illinois, its a law to stop for people in the crosswalk, but good luck with expecting drivers to obey that one! Really, it's every pedestrian for themselves...he gave me an apologetic wave and I shot him a look. THE look.


After that, I forgot about him and started thinking about Hug A Runner Day. I know it's a crazy made up holiday, but I thought it was cute and fun and wanted to share it! Before I left for my run, I posted about it on my personal FB page, and tagged a bunch of running friends. Facebook would only let me tag 20 people. As I ran, I realized I left out a lot of supportive running friends. I felt really badly about that, and resolved to tag them in a comment when I got home. This is why I didn't tag anyone on my FB running page. A lot of pages do shout outs, to increase traffic for other pages. As a page administrator, I tend not to do them, because I'm so afraid of leaving someone out. I'll do a shout out for a birthday, for a race, or for a new page that I like, but other than that, I don't do mass shout outs. I just don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. Because who likes to be left out?


As I thought about this, I started to notice my shins tightening up. Shin Splints? Oh, hell no! I haven't had them in years. Why today? I tried to push through them. In between songs on my playlist, I could hear my feet flapping on the ground. Hearing that, I knew my shins were really tight. They really started to hurt. I finally stopped to stretch them. Leaning up against a tree, I did ankle rolls both ways, on both legs. Then I reached down and pulled up on my toes, to help release the muscles. I started to run again, and they felt much looser, thankfully. But my legs still just wouldn't open up. I was wearing my CW-X compression tights, which were keeping me warm, but I started to wonder if they were impeding my speed. I had a similar experience while wearing them last week. They kept slipping down, too, and I had to stop to tug them up a few times. Ugh.

Meanwhile, I turned to run south, up the "big hill" in my neighborhood, and into the wind. It was really cold, blustery, as the weathermen say, and I seriously considered bagging this run. But I convinced myself to push through it. I'm not a quitter, and really, I thought that all my runs can't be good, right? What doesn't kill me will make me stronger? Sure. So I moved forward, and continued into the wind.

I saw a bunch of landscapers, all bundled up, and they stared at me, as I began to pick up the pace. Woo hoo, the legs were loosening up! I waved at them, and they waved back. I thought about the woman who got grabbed at the retention pond where I normally run, and thought maybe I shouldn't be so friendly to random strangers. The wrong person might take it as an invitation. I hate thinking like this. Life is so much easier--as is running--if you move through it with a smile on your face. 

I rounded through the park and stopped to take a selfie. Like I said, smiling sure makes everything easier....


I came to a busy intersection and was shocked that the cars actually stopped at the stop sign to let me through. Usually, I stand at the crosswalk while they all blow through the stop sign. But then I noticed the police car...ahhhh...he should be there every day, really. I continued on my way, and again had thoughts of cutting this one short. Then I could get back to my house and rectify my mistake of not tagging those people. Seriously. I worried about this.

But they would want me to finish my run, right? We support each other, we runners. So I continued on. I saw no other runners or walkers this morning. It was that cold. I turned down my street and ran the rest of the way to my house. 6.2 miles in 55 mins. I'll take it. That put a smile on my face!

Because any run, even a bad run, is better than no run, right?






8 comments :

  1. Yep. A bad run beats no run. And one in those conditions earns you a kick-butt award!!

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  2. Absolutely! It is funny where our mind goes when running. And you have another cute top on--I want to steal some of your running gear!

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    1. Thank you! This one's an oldie but a goodie...gotta love Athleta!

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  3. I loved the crazy made up holiday too! Virtual hug. I'd bet not too much weather wise stops you from getting out there!

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    1. Nope...only icy conditions and lightning keep me inside. But this is pretty darn early for such bad conditions.

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  4. Yep, even a bad run is better than no run. Love the ELF reference, my favorite Christmas movie! Such a bummer about the shin splints. I'm dealing with something now that I never have before....a pulled hip flexor. Just when I think it is better I run and it flares up again! So frustrating!! Hope you can get them under control!!

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    1. Yeah, its weird getting shin splints now! Had them again this morning. I must be neglecting some stretching or something. I hope your hip calms down!

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