Mud Pies

Waking up yesterday morning to 22° weather, I was faced with a dilemma.  I was supposed go run with the Team in Training team at 6:30 AM....yes, that's right 6:30 in the morning......but anyone that knows me knows that:

1. I don't 'do' mornings....at least, not well
2. I don't do cold....even with hot flashes

That being said, I texted the coach and let him know that it was too cold for my old bones, then rolled over and went back to sleep.  Aaaahhh--glorious slumber.  There is no sleep better than stolen sleep, especially in the early morning, snuggled deep within the warm blankets..........even the four legged creatures sharing my bed continued to snooze.

However, at some point, the Piper has to be paid, and as the temperatures climbed into the high 40's,  Bob and I went to run at Arbor Hills nature preserve.  It was a five mile run--my first....  (Last week, in case you didn't know was my first 5K marathon..a lot of 'firsts' for this old lady)  I set a slow, but steady pace and commenced running. Being a beautiful day, the paths were full of skate boarders, walkers, dogs and children .  I felt a flush of irritation as I dodged the more dangerous pedestrians, most of whom were toddlers on bikes. Still I ran on, my feet thumping out a steady cadence.

All was well until Bob signaled me to turn and run down an unpaved mountain bike trail.  'Yay', I thought, 'No more dodging little kids!'

I have no doubt that Bob knew where he thought he was going, but soon we were crossing streams, pushing aside prickly branches and occasionally rolling an ankle on a tree root.  Nonetheless, it was pretty and rather soothing to be surrounded by nature, that is, until we hit the mud.... 

The sodden Texas clay suddenly appeared everywhere on the trail and one could not avoid it.  Soon, it was sticking fast to my shoes, which became heavier and heavier with each step... but still I plodded on.  Now I am no skinnie-minnie, so when you add the extra pounds that were now adhering to my feet to that on my hips and thighs, things became a little tough. My heart pounded and I gasped for air, but I was not going to stop,   Bob, unaware of my struggle, ran blithely ahead and that's when  I was started to do a slow seethe. Then came the hills....hills with 5 pounds of mud sticking to my feet!   Lordy, lordy, what is this man trying to do to me?  Still I ran, huffing and puffing, wondering when was I going to get the runner's high everyone talks about? 

Finally we got back to civilization, and onto a paved path.  The toddlers and skate boarders were still there, but now the challenges they presented didn't seem so bad.  My shoes started to lighten as the mud flew off of them and I picked up speed as I completed the remaining couple of miles. 

Moral to the story: Things can always get worse, so appreciate the present instead of finding fault....

Remind me of this next time I complain.