Spring in my step

On the heels of yesterday's "YAY me" post, here's one for a good laugh. Every morning I get up and cross another running activity off my list. Today, at 5:45 am, woke up to my alarm, rolled out of bed and peeked out the window to make sure there was no fog. I'll run outside in the dark, in wind, rain and snow, but not fog.

With a light dusting of snow glistening from the streetlight, I geared up and headed out for a 4 miler. The air was cool and damp which is a nice chance of pace from the incredibly dry air we've had all winter. It smelled of spring and damp grass and wood. You know the smell.

And then it started. 0.67 miles was the first sneeze. 0.75 was the first blowing of the nose. I continued to alternate between sneezing and nose blowing through 10 tissues and one sleeve (gross, right?!?!). My second mile took me through a sidewalk-less street and forced me to run on the side of the road which was all mud (see above dusting of snow satire). So now I am snotty and muddy but keep going. Overall, I feel OK.

At some point my ears said "this playlist is no good" while my legs simultaneously said "you've got to be kidding me, was this hill here last week?" and my new fancy-pants watch said 3.25 miles. I was totally spent, but I only three-quarters of a mile left and I still had one sleeve in reserve, should I need it.

Running through the park, all I wanted to do was finish. Dog owners are 50/50 about picking up after their pups, but at least the messes are never on the sidewalk. Apparently the coyotes didn't get the "only poop, or do other gross stuff in the grass" memo and it appeared they were particularly active last night.

So, my last three-quarters of a mile were spent running in a zig-zag pattern around piles of coyote stuff. And then I sneezed.

I was closest to home at 3.90 and called it a day without finishing that last tenth of a mile (although I did walk it). Abby was up this morning, which is rare for our dog, and she couldn't get enough of my shoes. Curious as to what she was smelling, I picked them up and looked at them when I realized that my last sneeze must have propelled me into a gift from a coyote. And it wasn't poop...

So, today, with some "spring" completely compacted into the sole of my shoe, I declare war on allergies and coyotes. Not sure what that means. But it feels good to say it!