Normally, the time changes just before Halloween...making it darker earlier and allowing more time for Trick or Treating. Least that’s how I remember it. Not so this year, and in a way, I’m okay with that. I was looking ahead at the forecast and it might actually stay sunny through the weekend, which means I might fit in an evening ride this week...something that would be out of the question if the time had changed already. So...too bad rug rats. Trick or Treat in daylight.
I made it to the Metropark by 4:30 p.m., which would allow me enough time for a short run so I could get home in time to hand out candy...or whatever Holly had picked up for the night. Paul was meeting me to run and was pulling up just as I arrived. It was cool...probably in the low 50’s...but you would think he was back in Alaska based on the outfit he was sporting.
“Holy crap, Paul. Lose the long johns and that funky hat. Someone will shoot you just on general principle if you look that goofy running around here,” I said. His hat...a stocking cap that covered his ears, had a little ball on top and tassels that tied under his chin...was just plain nerdy. It had ‘beat me senseless’ written all over it. How did this guy ever get this old?
He started stripping off some gear...he had three shirts, two layers on his legs, the goofy hat and who knows what else. I suppose I shouldn’t be so rough on him...my outfits aren’t what you define as ‘stylish’.
After ten minutes of piecing together the appropriate gear, we headed up the trail and I had Paul wheezing in less than 5 minutes. “It’s pretty flat in Anchorage,” he managed to say once catching his breath at the top of the hill.
“I like getting hills out of the way at the start of the run,” I said. “I can look forward to ‘downhill’ from here on out.”
But I lied about that. We took a course that rolled and bucked over some of my favorite trails...and off-trails. We moved cautiously since the leaves had fallen thick and were covering every conceivable ankle breaker the woods had to offer. “I like running through the leaves. Forces me to pay attention to every step...which means I never get bored,” I said. Not that I ever got bored running these trails...leaves or not.
We covered about three miles when I felt my old friend...a twinge in the belly of the left calf...return. The ache continued with each step for the remainder of the run and told me I wouldn’t be running for some time. I really think it has returned because I insist on running 30-40 minutes at a crack, but only once a week. My legs may have lost their running conditioning and the pain is just a friendly reminder that I need to work into it more gradually...or run few miles...if I’m only going to run once a week.
I hurried home after the run and after a shower, took out the screen to the front door, turned on the light that said we were open for business, hung a sign that said ‘please knock’ since I still haven’t fixed the door bell and got out the...potato chip container thingies Holly had purchased. I called her to remind her it was Halloween.
“Oh yeah...well...you can handle it. I’m working late. Oh...and give away the ‘Sour Cream’ potato chips first. I don’t like them so much and if there’s any left...may as well be the ones I like,” she said.
How mercenary. Now if they’d been Snickers Bars...well...I just never would have turned on the porch light.
Run workout: 33 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140 bpm.Calories burned during workout: 500.
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