Never stop running.
Sometimes when I'm running I come up with cheesy slogans. Running slogans. Like something out of a Nike ad, I imagine starting a running campaign based upon three powerful words. If you go to some place like Cafepress.com, you'll see a lot of these sayings and slogans ready to be emblazoned upon a t-shirt, coffee mug or canvas tote bag. I love reading the backs of t-shirts during a race - but I can never find the shirt at the end, never remember the clever slogan I was so excited about.
My favorites seem to utilize intimidation tactics. They certainly allude to an athletic capacity far beyond my reach. When you're running alone down a dark path in a deserted scenic area, every little bit of bravado seems to help.
Trample the weak. Hurdle the dead.
My sport is your sports punishment.
Pain is weakness leaving the body.
In any case, this is what I was thinking about during my run on Sunday. It's not that interesting, I'm sure, but when you're jogging along with little else to contemplate and a strong desire to get a frappucino, this is what keeps me going. I bring up frappucino, not because I typically like them, but because there is actually a Starbucks along this bikeway. It's all surrounded by trees and then suddenly this little a-frame Starbucks sign appears propped up off to your left next to a staircase leading into the back of an otherwise unmarked two-story building. It's just unnatural. Unnaturally tempting! I think that its meant to lure in the cyclists, not the runners, but the promise of a cool beverage is highly appealing. This is why I wear a fuel belt.
In any case, this is what I was thinking about during my run on Sunday. It's not that interesting, I'm sure, but when you're jogging along with little else to contemplate and a strong desire to get a frappucino, this is what keeps me going. I bring up frappucino, not because I typically like them, but because there is actually a Starbucks along this bikeway. It's all surrounded by trees and then suddenly this little a-frame Starbucks sign appears propped up off to your left next to a staircase leading into the back of an otherwise unmarked two-story building. It's just unnatural. Unnaturally tempting! I think that its meant to lure in the cyclists, not the runners, but the promise of a cool beverage is highly appealing. This is why I wear a fuel belt.
My actual run on Sunday didn't quite go as planned. You see, I haven't run the pathway since autumn. As a result, I forgot that the bus that takes me out into the middle of no where, where it starts, doesn't run on Sundays. Just Saturdays. So I couldn't get to the no-other-way-home-but-run startline. Instead I had to compromise. I ended up running 6 miles outbound and then another 4 miles back. I ran the full distance I was planning on it. I actually even felt good enough to keep going the last two miles home, except that I had forgotten to wrap my toes. I had killer blisters that were threatening to disable me. So I called it a day and caught the train.
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