Here it is … the middle of January. And this is my first run of the year. In fact, it’s my first run in about five weeks.
And I’ve missed it.
Sometimes, life just gets in the way of running, especially this time of year. There are holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, weather … and sometimes, a little too much real life drama. That’s what happened with me. Every day, I’d pledge that I was gonna go out on my neighborhood 5K tromp, and every day, something would eclipse that. As a result, I have a box of medals for virtual races I have not yet run. You’re gonna see some oldies that should’ve been run in 2016 float by.
But not this one. This one was actually on-time!
The Moon Joggers group is a crazy-supportive collection of runners from all over the world, and it was with them that I first started running these virtual races. The MJ’s are gathering in Utah this summer for the AF Canyon race (half marathon for me), renting a vacation home for a few days, and just reveling in the company of like-minded folks for a while. I can’t wait! This race was a fund raiser to help with some of the costs associated with the MJ presence at that race.
Like every other day for the last five weeks, I started my day with the best of intentions, thinking I’d go for a run at lunch, only to find myself staying indoors, taking in some chili. It was cold and raw at lunch, and that ended up being the deciding factor in staying in.
Though the afternoon, I’d seen one of my Facebook running friends having a struggle with her running, and I chimed in with some of my thoughts about life, the universe, and everything. And ya know what? All that inspired me to run after work.
Now, it’s wintertime here in Da Lou, which means the Sun sets pretty dang early, leaving precious little daylight after work for me to cram in five kilometers of distance at my pace. Immediately after work, I went upstairs, got changed into my running gear (including a rain slicker), and put myself outside.
It was sprinkling, and I’d intentionally gone out without music so I could listen to the world around me in the glory of the rain. I love running in the rain, but it’s pretty easy to miss all the nuances of a gentle rainfall with earbuds plugged in. I set out at a brisk pace, and just looked and listened as I went through the neighborhood. I could hear thunder off in the east, and wondered if I was gonna get drenched. (I didn’t, btw, although I did have a pretty good downpour for about five minutes.)
It was glorious.
Back on the road. Outside again after a long winter’s nap. And with an amazing sense of completion after so long away from the great outdoors I love so much. It was a great run with which to begin 2017!
Race Course
