Running. With Nature.

~ Live & Learn

6:15 am. I finish up my blog posts.  Finish bantering with Mimi.  I pan through the Weather app on my iPhone for a temperature report on my set locations: Miami 61 F/78 F.  Sunny.  Sydney 67/81.  San Diego 54/65.  Home: 29 F/41 F.  (Brrrrrrr.  I shiver.  Do I really want to do this?  Maybe I should wait until later this afternoon when temps climb.  Come on.  Who are you kidding?  If it doesn’t happen RIGHT NOW, it’s not going to happen pal…you know that.)

6:20 am: I put on sweatpants, sweatshirt and grab baseball cap.  (Mind is chattering… should I drape myself in layers…thermal underwear and thermal undershirt…and Tuke/Beanie.  Are you kidding?  A mere 29°.  A Canadian, last time I checked. Man-up.)

6:24 am: Grab headphones, iPhone and Garmin GPS watch. (Notice that I have 1 bar of power left on Garmin and 2 bars on iPhone.  Irritated. Irritating.  Hundreds of dollars of e-equipment and they can’t hold a charge for more than a few hours.  Yep, good one – Gadget Man is blaming battery life.  Be grateful.  Thanksgiving.  Day of Sabbath.  And I’m sniping.)

6:31 am: I open the door.  Cold air bites immediately.  I inhale.  Oooh.  Hmmmmmm.  (Why not just go for a short walk.  No. No.  Keep walking.  Get on the highway.  Don’t turn back now.  You’ll be kicking yourself all day.)

6:32 am: I fire up Endomondo, the running GPS app.  And hit start on the Garmin GPS.  Wary about the remaining battery life. (I downloaded the updated Endomondo app that was supposed to fix the bugs.  Last chance for you Pal.  And, it’s important that I have a back-up GPS tracker/time in case one powers out.  Of course it is.)

6:40 am:  1 mile marker.  Making good time.  Cold fingers and toes, are less so.  Bones warming up.  (This used to be so much easier.  Less of a struggle.  Perhaps the extra layer of warmth is coming from the snackin’ on open faced turkey sandwiches, heaping spoonfuls of brown gravy, and mashed potatoes injected with butter. Whale blubber insulation.)

6:49 am:  2 mile marker.  I’m out of the neighborhood and on the road. (“On the Road.”  Kerouac Times story stirring the chatter.  I bet that Jack didn’t run into chilling head winds.   And, Jack would fire back, ha!, what a worthy quest you are on Pal.  Me on a personal quest for meaning and belonging.  You, just looking to keep your weight fat. Flat, I mean.  On point, Jack, on point.) 

6:55 am: Now running squarely into a beautiful sunrise.  I fumble with iPhone case and swipe to find camera app – all without breaking stride.  (Zen Man: Friend, why don’t you just stop?  Take in the moment.  Be present.  DK Man: Can’t lose time.  OMG.  Why are my hands trembling?  Can’t find the damn camera app.  Swipe back. Then forth.  Back and then forth.  Perhaps I.Should.Slow.Down. I wouldn’t have to frantically go back and forth.  Could I have put the app in a folder?  Why do I have all of these apps anyway?  At this pace the sun will be up and down.  Oh boy.  I’m woozy.  Vertigo from looking down.   YES, found it.)

6:57 am: I stop to take the picture.  (I click the take-picture icon.  Not sure if anything happened.  This may be the 2nd picture I’ve ever taken on an iPhone.  Maybe the 10th picture on anything my entire life.  AND THEN, my iPhone goes DARK.  Out of power.  Arrrrgghhhhhh.  Who knows if this photo will turn out.  And I’ve lost running time to boot.  I thought I had plenty of juice.  And then it hits me.  Damn Endomondo GPS – it was guzzling battery power.  That leaves me with Garmin GPS.  One bar.  Blinking.  Flashing.  Desperately sipping power.  Seinfeld episode with Kramer test driving a car on a near-empty tank of gas.  Same sensation, with a more pronounced whiff of desperation.)

7:00 am:  3-mile marker.  Running through the park.  No music, with gear bouncing up and down in my pocket.  Sun is up now in its full glory  (Just me.  The geese.  The gulls.  Less than a handful of walkers.  A light breeze shimmering the water and rustling the trees.  Mind chatter has quieted.  Not stopped. Quieted.)

7:10 am: 4-mile marker.  Wind at my back.  Sun now offering soothing warmth.  Comfortable pace.  (I’m listening to my breath.  In. Out.  Calm. Comfortable.  Quiet.  Garmin alert pops up stating that “Battery Power is Low.”  Wonder at that moment whether low power and power outages are messages.  To me. For Me.  Can’t be yet another set of coincidences, right?  Zen-Man carries me home to the end of my five mile loop.)

Time Check: 90 seconds better than last weekend with no run-walk, just run. My run with nature.  (And, let’s not forget my trusty Garmin.)

Epilogue:  The picture above turned out beautifully (if I say so myself).  The wonders of modern technology.  The top three reasons to run in November:

  1. Getting it over with and avoiding the self-flagellation for the rest of my Sunday.
  2. The long, hot, steamy, unthawing shower that follows.
  3. The 60-minute nap under my down comforter with Zeke.

Nap time.

Related Posts: Running Series

33 thoughts on “Running. With Nature.”

  1. Oh dear friend, we all know that once you awake from that delicious nap with your buddy, there will be something for you to self-flagellate about – it just won’t be about running. Two other top reasons for running in November – you got a gorgeous picture AND you actually had a conversation with your Zen-Man and DK didn’t talk over him. Even better, he let Zen-Man carry you home. I like that. Have a great nap.

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  2. Oh you’ve left the door so wide open:
    (1) Don’t complain about the cold. In CANADA we run in much colder.
    (2) I gave you lots of pats on the back yesterday. That was the weekend quota 🙂
    (3) Beautiful picture indeed! Love it!
    (4) That moment when the battery powers down – happens all the time to me. Always a moment of panic – then it ends up being a blessing.

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  6. Beeeeautiful photo, my friend, and look how good you felt at the end of your run–happy, satisfied, redeemed, just like you knew you would. Like Gloria Steinem said, “The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.” ;-). Hope you enjoyed that shower and nap to their fullest!

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      1. I find that exercise is made easier if ya have someone to share your triumphs and equally commiserate with when you are just NOT feelin’ it, so if that earns me a slot as your “unpaid life coach,” I am honored…:-)

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  7. It is, indeed, a wonderful image!
    I’m envious of your run; I would love a scene such as this to run to; if I ran, that is…
    Sunday for me is for ‘dancing’… That’s my exercise for the day.. A wonderful exercise full of love and comraderie. However, I would still love a scene such as this within ‘running’ distance…! Enjoy your evening, David. You’ve earned it…!

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  8. In no particular order: great photo; a self-proclaimed moniker for myself: Gadget Girl; I ran in the rain last weekend and it took everything I had to get my b*tt out the door and ended up being a great 4 mile run [with puddle stomping included]; I am all too familiar with the device laden runs…heart rate monitor/watch, the iPod/mp3 player/earphones, gps running [and sucking battery] and the run tracking app, and stopping to take a photo. I feel ya, man, I feel ya! 🙂

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      1. Laughing!! I was thinking similar thoughts, could so so relate to everything you wrote! Down to the nap! I use the RunKeeper app…eliminates the need for the Garmin watch [mine died…and couldn’t bring myself to buy another one!] The app is on both iPhone and Android phones, and allows for music to be playing at the same time [paramount for me!!] Let me know what you think!

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  9. Starting of with the picture I will quote words of one of your post “Because there’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline, no matter how many times it’s sent away.” Secondly, when I read your conversation with your mind I live that moment (:

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  11. First of all – the phone is gorgeous! Second of all – love the play by play of the event that is a morning run. In and out of our heads. Very relatable 🙂

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