close call.
in new york this past week, sunshine has been pretty fleeting, and you got to get it while you can. yesterday, i slaved away on a couple of spreadsheets and wistfully gazed outside. the moment i left work, the sky clouded over, and halfway home, the heavens opened up and it began to pour. during rush hour, there are no cabs to be had, which is a moot point anyways, since i've resolved to walk home everyday, no matter what the weather. the trip took me about 2.5 hours, but included me ducking into borders for refuge and a quick stop at whole foods for goat cheese.
when i left for my run today, the weather was tenuously balanced between sun and rain clouds. the reservoir track was practically flooded; i ran about a quarter mile like an obstacle course, jumping over/around/through puddles. so, for the first time, i took the bridle path. unlike the track, which is flat, the path actually has terrain: hills, valleys, rivulets... thus, it's a harder run, but much more serene. there are moments, when the skyline is hidden in the trees, that i feel as if i'm not in the city. for those of you who've spent some time in ann arbor, it 's like the trails in the arb. i hit an amazing, effortless stride; my breathing was easy and regular; and i ended up running a good 4+ miles. at the end of my last lap, i considered doing one more, but with a spreadsheet waiting to be populated at home, i thought better of it. good thing, too, because mere moments after i walked through my door, i heard a thunderclap.
i always have a brief moment of triumph during a successful run, thinking about a future cardioloist appointment. i will walk in and, when asked if i exercise, smugly announce: "i run every day. three miles." the last time i did that, the cardiologist double-checked my charts, no doubt re-reading a notation he had written a year previously advising against strenuous activity: "you're body won't be able to handle it." he had said. i left that day with a different prescription: "only aerobic activity. don't lift weights." soon after, i purchased 8 lb free weights. it's not that i don't trust doctors, or that i don't think they are qualified to give me medical advice. but i feel like i know my own body and i'm smart enough to know my limits. when i'm tired, i rest; when i'm hungry, i eat. and when i know i can go one more mile, i do. booyakasha.
when i left for my run today, the weather was tenuously balanced between sun and rain clouds. the reservoir track was practically flooded; i ran about a quarter mile like an obstacle course, jumping over/around/through puddles. so, for the first time, i took the bridle path. unlike the track, which is flat, the path actually has terrain: hills, valleys, rivulets... thus, it's a harder run, but much more serene. there are moments, when the skyline is hidden in the trees, that i feel as if i'm not in the city. for those of you who've spent some time in ann arbor, it 's like the trails in the arb. i hit an amazing, effortless stride; my breathing was easy and regular; and i ended up running a good 4+ miles. at the end of my last lap, i considered doing one more, but with a spreadsheet waiting to be populated at home, i thought better of it. good thing, too, because mere moments after i walked through my door, i heard a thunderclap.
i always have a brief moment of triumph during a successful run, thinking about a future cardioloist appointment. i will walk in and, when asked if i exercise, smugly announce: "i run every day. three miles." the last time i did that, the cardiologist double-checked my charts, no doubt re-reading a notation he had written a year previously advising against strenuous activity: "you're body won't be able to handle it." he had said. i left that day with a different prescription: "only aerobic activity. don't lift weights." soon after, i purchased 8 lb free weights. it's not that i don't trust doctors, or that i don't think they are qualified to give me medical advice. but i feel like i know my own body and i'm smart enough to know my limits. when i'm tired, i rest; when i'm hungry, i eat. and when i know i can go one more mile, i do. booyakasha.
posted by cheeky monkey at 3:00 PM
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