a lil xmas stroll

I often do my longer runs down by my mothers hood. its beautiful terrain and much afar from the jumble of city life. clean roads. minimal potholes. trees. i like trees. so i get up xmas morning to do my "post 2300 consumed cookies and 14 pieces of red velvet cake" run. clearly by my consumption i was good and fueled....and i decided this was gonna be a tuffy. so i get out there in the crisp winter air to begin my journey. it was so serene. similar to my light peeping run. but it was light out...but so quiet. i envisioned each home...how the children woke to find santa's goodies....i pictured everyone inside around their fire places. christmas breakfast....scones. jelly's and jams and nutella. mmm. (i dont think i have ever even had a scone...but remember i was imagining...and scones seem appropriately holidayish. lol) nobody was out. minimal cars...and the cars that did drive by were filled with families...clearly on their way to grandmas or to their friends...relatives. so about half way on my journey their is a strip where you pass by a "park"...sorta. its more like a lake surrounded by a walking path...you often will see folks jogging or walking around the lake...its about a mile or so around the perimeter. very picturesque. anyway so as im approaching that part of my run, i see a man in the distance walking with what appeared to be his two children. thoughts entered my mind about how nice it was to see a father walking with his kids on christmas morning...getting out away from the cookies...bundling up...the kids were so cute-- one walking with a "walking stick" and the other bouncing a small ball of some sort. i started to think about how few people were out enjoying the christmas morning air....and how beautiful that air was. funny how you think a zillion thoughts in a span of a few seconds. i also thought how the man appeared pretty fit--and how this routine was probably part of his daily regime. im quite certain you wouldn't see an unfit person--or a person that didn't include walking or getting outside for fresh air as part of their daily routine--out and about on christmas morning. So back to me running...as i approach the man, i wave and smile....he starts back peddling and as i remove my earphone he shouts "mighty montauk???" (note: i was running in a fleece vest that i had gotten at the mighty montauk half ironman in 2006. there was a small insignia on the breast of the vest) i shout back...YEAH--MIGHTY MAN!! he smiled huge and yelled...I was there! I raced!! i smile huge in remembrance and shock that the man even noticed my vest as i was running past...(perhaps i needed to be running a bit faster haha) I responded with a "right on!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!" "Merry christmas to you too...he shouted back" and i went on my way. I tell this story because i thought about how funny the whole thing was and how it went down. of all places...of all moments...of all times...ironic. (it also happened right about at the moment when my legs started to fatigue just a bit) that race in 2006 was epic. there was a monsoon...literally that day. there was shin deep water on most of the run course. literally you could have done the run in a row boat. i remember telling myself that if i could finish that race then i was sure to be able to finish any race ever in any condition...ever. it was THAT bad. not sure what the moral of the story is....perhaps only triathletes go out on christmas morning to exercise...haha nah.....that wouldn't be inspiring enough. haha...but i just started thinking after i continued on that run about what an integral part training and exercising is in our lives. even christmas morning. the world will continue on around us and we just have to be proactive about making sure we partake in it. the little lessons that we learn when we do. the people and the moments that happen... when we least expect it. seeing that guy and remembering that race also helped to alleviate the brief fatigue in my legs...oddly enough. always good to think about the times when you really hurt and you pushed on through it....helps when you have a bit of a hump in training.

ah well im rambling. moral of the story--get out and go for a run. and make sure you look cute cause you may run into someone you know. haha. just kidding. MERRY CHRISTMAS! happy kwanza.