Though I'm currently coursing through an increasingly thorny thicket of sleep deprivation, in preparation for my return trip to Japan in just a few hours, I've been back in the States for a few weeks now. Upon my late January arrival I was greeted, near immediately, with a snowstorm. It was somewhat appropriate, I suppose, since my family celebrated a faux-mas that weekend as a welcome back party (I was away in Japan during the real deal), providing us with the pleasant kind of white Christmas that Bing Crosby would be proud to croon about dreaming of. Aesthetically, I enjoy snow. As a runner, though this winter has been eerily warmer than it was during last year's training circuit, it's a complete bummer. Apropos of the Wet Snow, my running schedule was pushed back by two days. Instead of running, I spent that Saturday morning on a stationary bike, somewhat sleepy-eyed with jetlag, gazing out the window into the bleak specks of white blanketing the streets below with a foreboding glisten.
Waking up after a long weekend of not running, I found myself, understandably, more than a bit eager to make the most of my Monday morning. The local meteorologists weren't brightening my day with anything they had to say: Monday = cold & rainy. Though the rain washed away some of the snowier spots on the sidewalk, it did me no favors in making the streets any easier to get around on by foot. My clothes, though their labels boasted of a resilient water resistance, were soaked within minutes. My shoes were even worse off. They felt like Sisyphisian bolders bolted to the bottoms of my feet with slender ice cycles.
I charted a course with five 4 mile loops for the day. Four miles into the 20, I ditched my ipod back at home, for fear it would float away in my pocket. I changed my socks and shoes, which I knew was futile, because that only kept my feet dry long enough to walk out the front door into the downpour. At least it provided me with the comforting memory of a dry footed 15 seconds that I held onto for much of the remainder of my run.
So it goes...more wet weather woes below.
