Frozen!
When you sign up for long distance races, you are also signing up for early Friday nights because of early Saturday morning long runs. But, that's not a bad thing. It's actually helped me become more disciplined in my eating and reduce the amount of alcohol I consume because yes, I like to have a drink on Friday's, Saturday's, Sunday's...don't judge me! Run buddies or accountability partners are crucial in the process. If one run buddy can't make it, another one can and will step in when needed. Over the last few years, my girlfriends and I have made it work and we're all still in this together.
On this particular Saturday, my sole sister Khandi needed to get 14 miles in for an upcoming race we're all training for. Timing was the issue and she wanted to run at 5:30am. Why so early? Only she knows. Either way, I told her I could give her 8 miles to help her out because the other ladies were taking off at 7am. Our other sole sister, Dee, who is also a run coach, agreed to join us. Please keep in mind, it is January and the temperature was 33 degrees when we took off at 5:45am because Khandi was the last to arrive to her run, that we agreed to help her out with. Clearly we love her! Even though we have invested in very good cold weather running gear, it was still freezing outside!
Once we took off, I literally could not feel my nose and my face went numb, but I kept running because I knew my blood would start flowing and would warm me up eventually. It was at about mile 3 that I swore I had snotsicles hanging from my nose. I then noticed Khandi rubbing her right butt cheek. I know she's had some hip pain previously so I assumed it was happening again. Then I realized the circular motion from her hand; she was using her hand warmers to warm up her butt cheek because it was frozen! I laughed at her, but you have to do, what you have to do in these freezing conditions to get your miles in. At least that's how we roll. At mile 4, we reached our turnaround mark and the view was so beautiful. It's not often I see the sunrise so I had to stop and capture the moment. This is part of early morning runs that make it worthwhile.
On our way back, it was particularly dark in that area and it was then I realized how "bright" Khandi was. She is the "gadget queen"! She was blinking, glowing and her headlamp lit up 20 feet in front of her keeping us both safe. Clearly, safety is important to us and I am grateful for the gadgets.
On the way back, traffic had picked up some and it was around 6:30am. As we reached the corner to head back towards our cars, we both got a good whiff of weed as the cars drove by. A little contact high never hurt anyone, right?! We just chuckled and kept it moving. Dee was running 3/1 and passed us along the way. Her body was warm and her pace had picked up by this point. Khandi and I were running 4/1. This means, we ran 4 minutes and walked 1 minute. If you've never tried it, you should. Definitely helps you feel less fatigued at the end of your long run. As we passed Dunkin Donuts, my mind, body and soul were ready for breakfast, but I had another 2 miles to go. I just thought about food all the way back to my car. I could've ran additional miles with them, but I was too hungry - sorry ladies! However, I did give Khandi the 8 miles I promised her. I am a woman of my word!
My non-runner friends always say to me, "I don't know how you do it" but my love for running has a lot to do with my run buddies. We've bonded on and off the pavement, but the pavement is what brings us together most often. And, everyone's therapy is different. Thankfully, there is pavement everywhere for us to explore, laugh and even cry on. Trust me, I've cried before and Khandi was there, silently supporting me. Thankfully, on this run, there were no tears, just frozen noses, butt cheeks and frosty glasses.
On this particular Saturday, my sole sister Khandi needed to get 14 miles in for an upcoming race we're all training for. Timing was the issue and she wanted to run at 5:30am. Why so early? Only she knows. Either way, I told her I could give her 8 miles to help her out because the other ladies were taking off at 7am. Our other sole sister, Dee, who is also a run coach, agreed to join us. Please keep in mind, it is January and the temperature was 33 degrees when we took off at 5:45am because Khandi was the last to arrive to her run, that we agreed to help her out with. Clearly we love her! Even though we have invested in very good cold weather running gear, it was still freezing outside!
Once we took off, I literally could not feel my nose and my face went numb, but I kept running because I knew my blood would start flowing and would warm me up eventually. It was at about mile 3 that I swore I had snotsicles hanging from my nose. I then noticed Khandi rubbing her right butt cheek. I know she's had some hip pain previously so I assumed it was happening again. Then I realized the circular motion from her hand; she was using her hand warmers to warm up her butt cheek because it was frozen! I laughed at her, but you have to do, what you have to do in these freezing conditions to get your miles in. At least that's how we roll. At mile 4, we reached our turnaround mark and the view was so beautiful. It's not often I see the sunrise so I had to stop and capture the moment. This is part of early morning runs that make it worthwhile.
On our way back, it was particularly dark in that area and it was then I realized how "bright" Khandi was. She is the "gadget queen"! She was blinking, glowing and her headlamp lit up 20 feet in front of her keeping us both safe. Clearly, safety is important to us and I am grateful for the gadgets.
On the way back, traffic had picked up some and it was around 6:30am. As we reached the corner to head back towards our cars, we both got a good whiff of weed as the cars drove by. A little contact high never hurt anyone, right?! We just chuckled and kept it moving. Dee was running 3/1 and passed us along the way. Her body was warm and her pace had picked up by this point. Khandi and I were running 4/1. This means, we ran 4 minutes and walked 1 minute. If you've never tried it, you should. Definitely helps you feel less fatigued at the end of your long run. As we passed Dunkin Donuts, my mind, body and soul were ready for breakfast, but I had another 2 miles to go. I just thought about food all the way back to my car. I could've ran additional miles with them, but I was too hungry - sorry ladies! However, I did give Khandi the 8 miles I promised her. I am a woman of my word!
My non-runner friends always say to me, "I don't know how you do it" but my love for running has a lot to do with my run buddies. We've bonded on and off the pavement, but the pavement is what brings us together most often. And, everyone's therapy is different. Thankfully, there is pavement everywhere for us to explore, laugh and even cry on. Trust me, I've cried before and Khandi was there, silently supporting me. Thankfully, on this run, there were no tears, just frozen noses, butt cheeks and frosty glasses.
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