In Which I Discuss Running Routes and Neighborhood Mysteries

Monday’s Run (10/11/10)

I think I’m starting to settle into a nice running schedule: two times a week, with one of those times as my “long” run.  Perhaps running twice a week doesn’t sound like much, but I’m happy with it for now.  My half-marathon, the 5th Annual Armadillo Dash, isn’t until Sunday, March 6, 2011, and here I am, training for it five months in advance.  There is definitely time to build up the miles and to add in a third day of running each week, if I’d like to do that.

The important thing for now is to get back into the habit of running a few times a week.  In summer’s heat, I had fallen out of the habit of running outside, though I tried to get into the habit of doing treadmill runs.  It was hard for me to get too excited about the treadmill, so I didn’t push myself to run on it more than once a week.  I knew, in my heart of hearts, that come October, I’d be able to buckle down and get serious again about this running thing.

So, October, hello!  It’s so nice of you to finally arrive, and yes, I will be joining you for outside runs on sunny days.  On Monday evening, after a crazy crazy day at work, I arrived home, changed into my running clothes, sipped a glass of water spiked with some strawberry-cranberry juice, and headed out into the evening.  It was a very nice run, 20 minutes, out and back along my favorite running route.  I’m looking forward to mixing up my routes for variety’s sake, but for now, I’m happy to enjoy the same path for my twice-weekly runs.  I love that there are lots of things to see along this path: beautiful flowers and trees, cats lounging on driveways, a tiny park around which I can do a victory lap before heading home.  I’m a creature of routine, and it’s a comfort to have a running route to call my own.

My favorite part of Monday’s run?  A cat whose neck was so long and so white that it looked like it was wearing a scarf.  I had to look twice—it was awesome.  My other favorite part?  The photo below, which I took after arriving back home.  The photos above were taken during my photo walk on Saturday, and if someone could please tell me who the men in that mural are, I’d be very grateful.  I have no idea, but I’m dying to know!