Sunday, May 30, 2010

Man VS. Nature or Rain Man or Will Goes Au Naturale

Please see last post for an apology but I have a new laptop so expect more consistent posts. No, really I swear....(fingers crossed). Damn stream of consciousness.

Back to the post. There are certain things I hate doing alone; eating in a restaurant, driving with no radio on a long road trip, playing chess (that Kasperov computer is merciless harbinger of death, seriously!), etc. However, running is not. As long as I have some tunes going I could probably Forrest Gump it across country. Even without music, as long as there is some scenery, I'm good to go. I mean you never really hear about people talking about the amazing views through Nebraska do you? Claudia, I believe you can vouch for me.
Anyways, I think my favorite time to run is when most people second guess their plans outside and decide to watch back to back reruns of "House" on USA. For me, the nastier the weather, the better the run. It is like having mother nature as a training coach. A few weeks ago when clouds looked heavier than a parade of sumo backpackers, I took a run along Crissy Field and Fort Mason. With waves crashing into the seawall and blasting over 15 feet in the air then crashing into the saturated pavement, wind pushing against me, and a slight drizzle periodically paying as visit as the sunset breaks through the clouds, how can you not feel like you've accomplish more after a run.

A lifetime ago back in college, I used to do this think called Crew or Rowing for those who are not familiar. One weekend, not unlike this weekend (Memorial Day), told us over the weekend to get in an hour and a half worth of cardio. It didn't matter how, it just needed to get done. With Zen (iPods weren't big back then) in hand, I took off on a run of epic proportions. Leaving Santa Clara with dark clouds over head I was sure it was going to rain. Near the end of the run, the heavens open up and the warm rain came pouring down like Niagra. To accompany the downpour, bowel shaking thunder erupted with streaks of lightning tearing across the ceiling of clouds. I tripped over three curbs on my way back watching the heavenly show. Although I may have been soaked by the end, I can honestly say I have never had a better run.

So if Mother Nature has got you down, she's just training you for future runs.


P.S.  Sorry about the rambling in this post. I'm a little rust after two-ish weeks with no posts.

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