gloaming
** Wrote this up while traveling during the day yesterday and only got a chance to post it this morning. From sunny Mississippi!!
Occasionally life gives us that one beautiful day. A very pleasant day when everything seems just about right. Like yesterday for instance. It started like any other day with me realizing when the alarm rang that 6 hours of sleep is really not enough and ignoring it - the alarm - to nap for another hour. I worked for a little and then decided to do a short run on the apartment gym's treadmill. I am not very fond of this gym but I figured this would be the most convenient time and setting. Anyways, off I went. After spending 10 mins trying to figure out where the remote for the TV was and running half a mile, I realized the following (yes, it was a great day for realizations) :
- I really did not like this gym.
- It's annoying to try to watch TV while running especially when the treadmill puts a steam engine to shame with its noise.
- My shins hurt and my body just wasn't ready for this run yet.
So I did something that I usually do not do. I quit and came back home and took a shower. Over the last few weekends, our running group has been steadily increasing mileage from 14 to 17 miles and our coach had told us to take it a little easy this week to rest up for the coming weeks. Of course, what the coach didn't know was that I was going to be out of town for a good 5 days later this week and would be going on a 10 day vacation at the end of the following week. But still. Let no one say that I am not a good follower of instructions.
Anyways, I was feeling a little bummed at breakfast 'cause I wasn't able to run but felt pretty good after a nice chat with the ancestors. And then, just as I was about to leave for work, I got a call from this Fedex delivery lady downstairs asking me to come pick up a package. I'd been expecting some important docs via Fedex and was a little worried abt them being delivered to the rental office while I was gone - I never dreamed that I'd receive them so quickly. So after a quick yelp of happiness, I bounced down the stairs to the grinning lady to pick up my docs. Everything in order. Perfection abounds!
A productive and pleasant day at work and at ~ 7.15 in the evening, I decided that I'd give running another try. So I laced up my shoes and headed out to my usual jogging trail. It was cloudy and a few rain drops were in the air now and then. It was humid but not too warm. I started off running and noticed that I was running a little faster than usual but my breathing was ok so I stuck to that pace. My shins/calves, as always in the first 2-3 miles, were tight and still hurt a little. I told myself that I wasn't stopping until the end of the 3 mile trail. This I did and my shins were not happy at this point. I stretched a little and decided to walk for a while on my way back. So I walked half a mile and as I did the sky got darker and it started drizzling. Then I started running and now my shins felt fine. Within a couple of minutes of running, I settled into a nice pace and then it finally happened. I just ran. I ran like it was the most natural thing to do. I finally ran like how I've always wanted to run in my mind. I had my ipod on but the volume wasn't very high and I could hear my even breathing and the steady sound of my shoes in the background. It was getting very dark and the drizzle increased in volume but everything seemed very comfortable. I finally got back to the parking lot at the head of the trail and was ambling to my car when the sky opened up. And down came the water. Big, fat raindrops all over the place. I was soaked in a minute so I decided that I might as well stretch. I spent 15 minutes stretching in the rain and it was the most fun I ever had stretching. And that is how I had a near perfect day.
P.S: On my way home, I stopped at the gas station to fuel my car. As I do on occasion, I computed the mileage once I filled up the tank. Hallelujah - 30 MPG! And that is how I had a perfect day.
Occasionally life gives us that one beautiful day. A very pleasant day when everything seems just about right. Like yesterday for instance. It started like any other day with me realizing when the alarm rang that 6 hours of sleep is really not enough and ignoring it - the alarm - to nap for another hour. I worked for a little and then decided to do a short run on the apartment gym's treadmill. I am not very fond of this gym but I figured this would be the most convenient time and setting. Anyways, off I went. After spending 10 mins trying to figure out where the remote for the TV was and running half a mile, I realized the following (yes, it was a great day for realizations) :
- I really did not like this gym.
- It's annoying to try to watch TV while running especially when the treadmill puts a steam engine to shame with its noise.
- My shins hurt and my body just wasn't ready for this run yet.
So I did something that I usually do not do. I quit and came back home and took a shower. Over the last few weekends, our running group has been steadily increasing mileage from 14 to 17 miles and our coach had told us to take it a little easy this week to rest up for the coming weeks. Of course, what the coach didn't know was that I was going to be out of town for a good 5 days later this week and would be going on a 10 day vacation at the end of the following week. But still. Let no one say that I am not a good follower of instructions.
Anyways, I was feeling a little bummed at breakfast 'cause I wasn't able to run but felt pretty good after a nice chat with the ancestors. And then, just as I was about to leave for work, I got a call from this Fedex delivery lady downstairs asking me to come pick up a package. I'd been expecting some important docs via Fedex and was a little worried abt them being delivered to the rental office while I was gone - I never dreamed that I'd receive them so quickly. So after a quick yelp of happiness, I bounced down the stairs to the grinning lady to pick up my docs. Everything in order. Perfection abounds!
A productive and pleasant day at work and at ~ 7.15 in the evening, I decided that I'd give running another try. So I laced up my shoes and headed out to my usual jogging trail. It was cloudy and a few rain drops were in the air now and then. It was humid but not too warm. I started off running and noticed that I was running a little faster than usual but my breathing was ok so I stuck to that pace. My shins/calves, as always in the first 2-3 miles, were tight and still hurt a little. I told myself that I wasn't stopping until the end of the 3 mile trail. This I did and my shins were not happy at this point. I stretched a little and decided to walk for a while on my way back. So I walked half a mile and as I did the sky got darker and it started drizzling. Then I started running and now my shins felt fine. Within a couple of minutes of running, I settled into a nice pace and then it finally happened. I just ran. I ran like it was the most natural thing to do. I finally ran like how I've always wanted to run in my mind. I had my ipod on but the volume wasn't very high and I could hear my even breathing and the steady sound of my shoes in the background. It was getting very dark and the drizzle increased in volume but everything seemed very comfortable. I finally got back to the parking lot at the head of the trail and was ambling to my car when the sky opened up. And down came the water. Big, fat raindrops all over the place. I was soaked in a minute so I decided that I might as well stretch. I spent 15 minutes stretching in the rain and it was the most fun I ever had stretching. And that is how I had a near perfect day.
P.S: On my way home, I stopped at the gas station to fuel my car. As I do on occasion, I computed the mileage once I filled up the tank. Hallelujah - 30 MPG! And that is how I had a perfect day.
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