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The Journey – 467.5 Miles, White Hills, AZ:
After days in the desert, today’s leg of the A2B Journey ran across a bit of civilization. First, while running south on U.S. Hwy 93, I passed by the World Famous Last Stop Arizona, home of Bullets and Burgers. (It’s all 2nd Amendment, all the time!).
Next, I happened by the Triangle Airpark, a fly-in community and private airport.
Finally, I ran by Rosie’s Den, famous retailer for lottery tickets. Powerball tickets are not sold in Nevada, California or Utah. So, places in Arizona, like Rosie’s Den, are the closest option to play the lottery. Over 2 million lottery tickets were sold in this single location last year.
The Run:
Below freezing!! This means it is time to break out the long running tights!
In cold weather, I always wear the appropriate number of layers on the upper half of my body. But whenever possible, I will wear shorts. My legs don’t get that cold as long I keep moving. That is, unless it is REALLY cold.
When I have to add a layer on my legs, I like to wear tights instead of sweat pants. Tights are not as heavy. And the sweat pants, inevitably, are too hot.
During cold weather, I spend a little less time stretching my calves and more time on my quads and hamstrings. My thighs seem to need more time and work to loosen up in lower temperatures.
Because of the cold, I took it pretty easy on the first mile. Afterwards, I moved to target pace.
Throughout the run, my stride never felt right. I couldn’t tell if it was because my legs being unaccustomed to a “new” layer or if it was just one of “those” runs. Regardless, it took a certain amount of intentional focus to stay on pace to the end of the run.
The Mind:
My mind has been consumed with work lately. I am moving into a new role. My new responsibilities take me into an area where things are quite unfamiliar. It is uncomfortable. And there is a LOT to do!
This is not a complaint. The truth is that I asked for it. So, rather than be paralyzed with discomfort, I choose to let it drive me towards getting my arms around it.
So as I am running, I take a moment to review the list of things that I know need to be done. I then turned my focus to brainstorming on ways to move through the learning curve more effectively and, perhaps, faster.
After a few miles, I was little surprised to find that I had come up with no ideas, no answers, or not even a single possible solution. Instead, I had a big list of questions without answers. So, I determined to 1) write them down at the end of this morning’s run and 2) get answers to as many of them as possible by the end of the week.
As I was running the last 200 yards towards my driveway, I reminded myself that best way get up to speed is to roll up my sleeves and work. “Doing” is the best way to become effective.
Finally, my only concern is the affect that all of this might have on my goals regarding A2B and music. The tug of war between daily practicality and dreams. Perhaps, I should devote a future run (preferably a very long one) to figuring out how to manage it all and still sleep.