1/3/13: Lucky Me

If every picture tells a story, shouldn’t it follow that words reciprocate?

Picture this: A man of moderate stature and medium build, dressed head to toe in black, bright red shorts and a shock of red hair and slightly redder beard, loping down the street in the cold January air. He makes long strides, kicking heels high behind him with each step. He’s not fast, but the ground covered with each extension of a leg propels him at a pace faster than it appears to him or to the observer.

That was me this morning. I felt strangely revved up. I was irritated before I started. My iPod Nano was dead – failed to charge overnight because I had flipped off the wall switch that controls that outlet. That meant a detour to the newspaper office to pick up my iPod Touch, which I’d left overnight, figuring I wouldn’t need it until I returned to work today. That stop turned into a 5-minute delay while co-workers joked about this morning’s robbery and the police pursuit and the likelihood that I was the suspect – being a guy on the run and all.

When running in the cold, it doesn’t do to stop and start. Sweat quickly soaks your clothes and when you start moving again you feel pretty darned cold. It took three blocks for the sweat freeze to abate. Having detoured south when I had intended to run north, I briefly considered turning my entire route south. I certainly wasn’t going to backtrack and head toward Walmart on my five-mile loop as originally planned. So it suddenly became random run day.

I decided to make my first jaunt over new Don Moffitt Overpass. It wasn’t as bad as the hills in Glen Oak Park on Tuesday, but it was trickier. I stuck to the sidewalk, but discovered grey ice – that thin, powdery coating that’s just enough to be slickery under foot. That slowed my pace as much as the incline and forced some odd hop-steps in an effort to avoid it when I could see it. Sometimes I couldn’t spot it until I felt it. Not fun.

For the most part the streets were clear. Even where there is remaining ice and snow it’s patchy and easily navigable; the clear areas were not slick at all. And then I found my groove. There’s nothing quite like settling into the zone. The ache in your shins fades (it’s still there, you just don’t notice it). Labored breathing at least finds rhythm. And that’s when I was able to stretch my legs, lengthen my stride, kick my heels up behind me. I wasn’t necessarily exerting myself more, not in the sense of running harder or faster, like sprinting, but by elongating my stride I covered more ground with each step, which equates to a faster pace. I think. It felt like it. But that all smacks of math and I may be confusing myself now.

Regardless, my resolve remains. I will run regularly this month. Soon after that I will begin a training regimen for my first half marathon. I have a 7K race coming up in March, a change of pace for me. The past two years I’ve done the CASI St.Patrick’s Day 5K in Davenport, Iowa. This year it’ll be the Team Ortho GetLucky Half Marathon and 7K in Chicago. At least I think that’s the plan. Running buddy Ellen said 7K first, then suggested the half. My plan was to do the Run Galesburg Run Half Marathon Express in June. It will be cooler in March, though, so maybe I need to start this training regimen now. Hmmm.

Today's Stats

Temp: 29 degrees F

Distance: 4 miles

Weekly Total: 7.1 miles

Treasure: Passed at least a dozen cans, one pair of boxer shorts and a blue knit glove. Didn’t have a bag with me today.

iPod Playlist (Premade Playlist):

Wonderful – Adam Ant (Different version than on my iPod, but better video.)

Smell the Color 9 – Chris Rice (It is indeed like trying to smell the color 9.)

Everything – Lifehouse (Brilliant skit; youth group did a version in my church.)

Life Uncommon – Jewel (Wonderful words, beautifully sung.)

Shining Eyes – James McMurtry

For a Dancer – Jackson Browne

The Rain Song – Led Zeppelin