Above the Fog

One of the beauties of living in the Bay Area is the ever changing weather. This morning as we were doing the last minute preparations for our first run of the year up Mission Peak, we felt engulfed in a blanket of fog. I changed to my winter gloves and donned my Gortex jacket.

We had 3 cancellations for this run. I only knew of one because I usually never check phone message before a run. Why? Because I know that I will be there. If someone wants to sleep in, it's not my business. We usually do not wait. It was just Andria and me. Andria is one of my favorite training partners because I know that she will always be there and will run at a faster pace. She drives all the way from San Francisco and I have never her heard of her canceling because she was too tired or the alarm clock did not go off. She is my bell weather running friend. I have not asked her if she likes to run with me. She probably complains that I make her run all the hills. I can be so demanding. My wife does not run. Mmm.

By the time we hit our 2.5 mile point, we punched through the fog. Oh how I love this part! The sun was shining and it's golden rays felt like an outdoor patio heater on my cold face. I stripped off my jacket and winter gloves and enjoyed the splendid weather.

The trail was void of any people. There were more cows than people and we did not see any runners. Mission Peak had a few people on the top. Most people were sleeping in on what I consider the best part of the new year. I purposely went to bed early so I could wake up for my run.

I turned on my cell phone when we returned to our vehicles so I could update Andria's number. Two text messages floated in. One was time stamped at 942 AM letting me know that she would not be available for the run this morning. It was 945 AM when I checked the message. The other message was left early in the morning at 230 AM explaining that he stayed up too late.


All of this is fine with me because I know that I showed up. Solo or in a group, I never have a bad run. In my 32 years of consistent running, I would rather run sick, tired, cold, wet, etc., than not run. This is my choice and I don't expect the same thing from others. When you really think about it, why bother running when it is cold and wet, or too hot? Missing a day or two will not hurt any training schedule. It's like missing a meal. The body will still perform. My answer is always the same. I run because I run. Albeit, I run only 3 times a week. This gives me the latitude to pick and choose my training days.