This morning I woke rather late-715 AM since I was feeling a little tired this week. It's Christmas morning and I decided to sleep until I was tired of sleeping! I was supposed to run with 3 of my princess running girl friends. They are fair weather runners. Any hint of bad weather and they become ghosts. This morning was a dido of many runs with these princesses of fair weather. It was me and three ghosts.
I headed up Morrison Canyon road and ran past the old Rose Ranch. I am usually greeted by wild turkey and deer as I pass the ranch. The new owner was kind enough to post a turkey and deer crossing sign.
Because it is winter, I had a Gortex jacket draped around my waist just in case it decided to dump on me half way through the run. I had gloves and a runners baseball style cap on to protect me from the elements. At mile post .75, I saw the results of last nights' wind and rain. Rocks and sand had washed out onto the road making it nearly impassable for an automobile. Good news for me because I like the road to myself. At mile 1.25 I spotted 2 deer lurking in the ravine. Their winter coats looked nice and fluffy to protect them from the winter storms. I first thought that they were wild mountain goats! When I reached the top I got slapped in the face with what felt like frozen rain. Why not snow? This stuff hurt. It was cold and windy. My kind of weather. There is something about us die hard runners that embrace bad weather. I think it's some kind of badge of honor that we can relish in. While we don't brag about it, I like knowing that I am probably the only fool out running in bad weather.
My watch must be broken because I was 6 minutes slower than what I logged in on the exact same run on Monday. I know that I have aged since Monday, but not to this extent. I can attribute the slow time to bad weather and holiday laziness. It's Christmas morning and I can run slow if I want. On the flip side, the faster that I run, the sooner I could be home eating a good breakfast and drinking hot coffee!
A lone car passed me on the top. There is another point of entry that allowed this vehicle to tramp on my turf. He was out joy riding too and we gave each other the "cool guy" nod. Guys tend to that. We don't smile. We give each other a stoic nod in the face and waited for each other to glance away. Alpha dog thing.
Forget the alpha dog thing. It started raining cats and dogs and I put my Gortex rain jacket on and ran like a rabbit home. It was a full bore thunderstorm and I wanted hot coffee. Yes, I wimped out. It's Christmas and I was cold and wanted to be inside with my boys and wife.
The turkey were waiting for me at the bottom and they gave me a dirty look as I passed them by. It was as if they were saying "who is this turkey?' If I had my gun (I do) I would have shot one and ate him for lunch!
When I returned home I did not get a hero's welcome. Nobody hardly noticed that I was gone. Only an hour had passed. As I navigated over Lego's, wrapping paper, and other Christmas debris, I ran for the shower.
Ahhh it's Christmas and I am enjoying a cup of fresh roasted Kenya. I ate 3 chunks of Belgium 72% dark chocolate with my morning coffee. I am a hypocrite of sorts. I preach eating healthy and exercise. I do all that. However, I need to offset the good habits with a little bad.
Run hard, eat good, and indulge in the pleasures that God give to us. Merry Christmas
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