Today I ran early due to a doctor’s appointment in the afternoon (early in this case meaning noon). Despite general rain forecasts for the week, the sky cleared up and it was sunny for nearly the entire jog. Should have left the jacket at home.
My tender right calf proved most vexing and I slowed my pace to reduce the chance of aggravating it. I was certainly successful in slowing, posting my worst times for a 35-minute run. A wiener dog puppy out in the field was chasing a ball and his barks sounded like they were filled with helium. This very cute fellow added +1 to my spirit. There was also a riding mower out cutting the grass alongside the trail, creating noise and belching diesel as I ran by it. -1 to spirit. There was also a road crew just up the hill next to the park and they were drilling with water, resulting in a highly unpleasant hissing noise. -1 again. The pleasant aroma of fresh-cut grass barely offset this. Overall, a bit of a wash.
I passed one person who was jogging so slowly I could have passed her if I’d been walking. It was some weird anti-jog. Maybe she was trying to run in place and not getting it quite right.
There was no burst of speed for the last five minutes, just quietly bearing it until the Nike lady told me to stop. When she did I hit the wrong command to end the run and it continued for another five seconds as I stood there fumbling with the iPod controls. I’m beginning to hate that sleek, sexy but difficult-to-use thing.
