The Great Outdoors

I went home this past weekend for Mother’s Day and with the choice of either doing nothing or running outdoors, I hit the pavement! I was lucky that my great southern state was experiencing a cold front this weekend so when I went out Saturday night it was in the low 60s and when I went out early Sunday morning, it was barely 50 degrees with a nice breeze (or headwind, but I digress)! As any runner would attest, these are ideal conditions but my mom was so funny…”Are you sure you don’t want a jacket?” LOL

While I should not be surprised that driving 2 hours south onto “the plains”, I would be experiencing flatter conditions than my “foothills of the Appalachians”, I have to admit that I was surprised at how MUCH flatter it was! Not to say that my parents’ neighborhood is flat (it’s not) but at least there were some stretches of flat instead of the constant up and down of my usual outdoor pursuits. It was really nice to run in a new place and to take things in from a new perspective.

Saturday night after returning from baseball/softball and helping my parents prep stuff for the grill, I took their dog out for a .75 loop and asked them how much time I had before dinner was ready. They estimated 10, so I went out for another 15, figuring something was better than nothing. After an off-schedule week leading up to going out of town (heavy on the work and social calendar and lighter on the exercise) my body was CRAVING activity and was itching to run. I have not really had that feeling b/c I have been sticking so close to a training plan that I never had enough off time to miss it. It was a great feeling to just let my body go without distance or pace agenda.

I ran 2.7 Sunday morning (was aiming for 3 but with no Garmin or internet…my parents have DIAL UP, why bother?...I was pleased to have estimated it fairly closely) and it went quickly as I thought about growing up, teenage antics and wondered about the families that still lived there. After my mom got home from church, she and I headed out for a 2.8 walk (different route) which was fun.

While overall, the mileage was lower than usual for a weekend I am pleased that I found time to exercise out of my normal routine and I look forward to running in their neighborhood again. I now know what I can do to easily make each route 3+ so it gives me some options when I come home for college football Saturdays or holidays b/c I will feel SO MUCH better knowing I squeezed in some mileage rather than just sitting on my arse.