Colorado Weather Keeps It Interesting
One day the weather is 40mph wind-snow and today it is 60 degrees with a light breeze. As I have been working overnight hours, I have had unusual access to run in daylight time. Normally, I need to get up before the family wakes up or after they go to bed. Granted, I am exhausted when I go running right now due to “off-hours” but am calling it excellent ultra training.
At my previous employer, I could take my dog, Rocky, to work. That meant he went on runs 4 days a week of up to 11 miles at a time. He never said no to a training run. Then I took a new job that didn’t allow for dogs at work. Now he’s out of shape and I’m not at previous condition either. He spends his days laying around and I spend mine standing at a desk.
This week, I have been fortunate to be part of team collaborations with group in Germany. This means working 1:30am – 11am shift. Fortunate? Yes, fortunate. To many, working these hours is viewed as painful. I will admit, it caught up to me halfway through the week and I took a solid 1 hour nap in the afternoon before running. However, call me an optimist, but there is a positive to almost every situation.
In this situation, I have been able to go on afternoon runs with Rocky. I’m trying to remember that he doesn’t suffer as well as I do, so working on easing him back into the distance. In this particular run, it was just a 4.25 mile run, half of what I had envisioned. There are not trails within running distance of my front door, so whatever road we ran down, I stuck to the dirt and grass as much as I could. 3 miles into the run, it was clear Rocky was feeling it. Still, the exhausted happiness in his face was clear!
A short run outside has a more positive impact on the body than one on the treadmill. I could get all sciencey about Vitamin D, fresh air in the lungs, blah blah blah. Really though, it’s about being out in nature and connecting with the world. Feeling the ground change below my feet and seeing others drive by. Who knows, maybe someone that drove by saw me running and had the urge to start getting healthy. Or feel exhausted so they went home and had a beer.
Either way, walking or running, you never know when you’re motivating someone.
Alex, I have been talking with A. about a running companion dog, what breed is Rocky and any other breeds you know of that are good for our long, slow running? Would love to take him/her hiking the white mountains too when I go there. As much as I love our three dogs and they love to run, they love to run around the yard for 15-20 minutes and then they are ready for a nap.