What I Sometimes Think About When I Run

 
   I generally will only attempt a blog post when I have a run I want to share. This means I've gone through occasional long stretches when there isn't anything to blog about as well as the occasional stretch where there do seem to be things I think someone else out there might be interested in hearing.
   Today, I don't have a run I'd like to go on and on about. I would like to talk about something I think about pretty well every time I get out there, however.
   

2013---running through the forest begins!

I'm a heavy guy who runs. I'm not the only heavy runner I've encountered on the internet or in magazines but I'm one of the heaviest runners I've seen in these parts of Ontario---and I see a lot of runners, London is kind of a hot bed for runners, so even when you don't want to see any (like if you're injured, for example) you still see them.
   I suspect the odd runner I encounter who has noticed my weight has then looked at me with some sympathy, mild interest, or possible disdain. I suppose it's also possible that some of them see me and silently congratulate me for just getting out there. I also have the feeling that the occasional runner simply does not see me, in any way.
   Any and all of this is fine with me, I'm not out there trying to impress anyone but here's the thought that runs through my head----not many people could do what I'm doing. 
   To explain, not many runners I see out there could move 230 pounds through a forest as fast as I can. I see lots of slender men and women out there running who are very likely anywhere from 50 to 100 pounds lighter than I am. I then imagine them being given a fifty to a hundred pound rock to carry with them and then seeing just how far, or fast, they can carry it. I don't see them making much of a go of it for very long or very far.
   I don't run fast with my 230 pounds but I run further and further all the time and, because that's the only thing I'm really trying to do, I don't see the need to do it quickly. 
   But I can run fast. As a matter of fact, if one of those slender runners and I were to stop somewhere in the forest and pick a tree about a hundred meters away in order to race to it, I strongly suspect I would win. Now, if that tree were two hundred meters away, I strongly suspect I would lose (or come in second, as I would choose to describe it!) 

Me, in the middle, buddying up with Jessica Zelinka
and friends at SprintFit last summer. As much as I
enjoy the forest, it was nice to be on a track,
running sort of fast for a change!

   I'm not sure but I suspect my body type is more like that of a sprinter, rather than a distance runner. It is, however, likely dissatisfying to write a blog post about the 13 second run I did on the weekend! There is a mystique to long-distance trail runs that I seem to have bought into and I guess that's why I do them. I also have the feeling that the type of training I would need to do as a sprinter would not be nearly as fun as running through forests, past streams and deer and mountains.
   Like most people, I have body image issues. Part of me would love to be lean and svelte, to look the same as the other runners out there, the ones that are passing me effortlessly. As I relentlessly move my 230 pounds through the trees and up the hillsides, however, I tell myself a couple of different things--- one is none of them could do this and the other is I am amazing!

   

Upping The Mileage And Some Good News!

   Yesterday, in an effort to get my mileage up one more notch, I borrowed my wife's car (so that my wonderful stepsons would have the opportunity to put snow tires on my car) and headed off to Kains Woods once again.
   It was a couple of degrees Celsius when I left the house, so I layered up nicely before I walked out the door. I did this in spite of the fact that I knew much warmer temps were in the offing in the afternoon but I am kind of a wuss when it comes to my upper body being cold---I have a hard time forcing myself out the door on a run day if I know I'm going to be cold for the first twenty minutes or so. Better to start off warm, then yank off a layer or two.
   

On the paved walkway, running
around the collection pond.

I entered at the end of the trail where the first kilometer or so is paved walkway. This is kind of annoying as I was wearing Salomon trail shoes and their large lugs are not conducive to running on pavement so I tried as much as possible to run on the grass borders. Eventually I arrived at the true trail portion and things were much better. My right knee initially was giving me some minor grief but this went away after about half a K.
   It did warm up and by about halfway through my run I was way overdressed. I was running into people running in shorts and t-shirts and congratulating them on their choices!
   The goal yesterday was to run 8K. My plan was to run 4 and a half K and then turn around and head back. One of the problems with the trails in my area is that none of them are any much longer than 5K, so this always necessitates me doubling back to get in the mileage. No big deal, though, and I managed to reach my goal with few issues.
    Kains was a busy place yesterday, lots of hikers and more than the usual amount of runners as well. And lots of dogs! Dogs are supposed to be on a leash at all times but most of the ones I ran into weren't. They were all well-behaved but, at the same time, I don't know that until they demonstrate it. Until they demonstrate it, I have to stop dead in my tracks when I encounter them. I also wonder what would happen if a well-behaved dog suddenly spotted a deer or a skunk off in the distance...oh well. Now that I come to think of it, the only time I've actually ever been harmed by a dog while out running was a beagle (on a leash, on a sidewalk) that unexpectedly leapt up on me as I was passing and tore a hole in my brand-new running shirt, breaking my skin with a paw. So maybe it's safer in the forest!
    After the run, my right knee was more tender than usual. I don't actually experience pain in it while I'm running but the aftermath is swelling and the accompanying tightness. This usually disappears after a couple of days but is problematic enough that I might actually try and see the doc about it. Something tells me it might need to be drained....

Through the trees, on the other side
of the river, you can see the golf
course belonging to the London
Hunt and Country Club (careful how
you say that) Could hear the skeet
shooters as I ran!

   Good news! In my blog post last week I briefly mentioned that I had quickly gained a huge amount of weight recently. I signed off with a throwaway comment that perhaps I should start going to the gym. Well...I did! I finally got up the drive to head over to the Goodlife in the nearby Superstore and use my Fit For Less membership. I've had this membership literally for two years and have never used it! Stupid or what?! It took  me awhile to remember how to use some of the machines but eventually I got into the swing of it. The best part, though, is that the ice has finally been broken! I'm off again today!