Running is supposed to be relaxing right????

OK, last night after a couple days off I went out and ran. I tried to make up for the time off and went for the 6 mile loop that I have discovered. If nothing else the distance made my weekly running total look decent. I was glad I got out there and did it but it didn't have the relaxing side effects that a lot of my runs have. This is due to several factors:

1) The heat index was at a nice cool 91 degrees. Needless to say my shirt was pretty well soaked through with sweat by the end. I went out and bought a couple NikeFit shirts to get the moisture off my skin but I quickly discovered that they only work for so long before their is just to much moisture. I really enjoy a good sweat though it just makes me feel like I have actually achieved something. A nice cool breeze would be a welcome addition though.

2) Their are way to many cars in south Florida. One road that I run along is what I guess you would call a major side road but it is still only a 2 lane street. Their are just a whole lot of cars on it. In order to make my route six miles I have to cross this road 4 times. Otherwise it would only be 5 and a half miles if I didn't add in 2 trips around a little loop. So the stress of trying not to get run over isn't really necessary but I figure if I'm going to run down here I'm going have to live with it.

3) Everyone in south Florida has a dog. Now I don't have a problem with that. Your pets are your business. It's when the people are talking on their cell phone and not really paying attention to what their dog is doing and how far its leash is stretched out. Their are also the people that know what their dog is doing and just don't care. I usually give every dog a nice wide gap to avoid tripping over a leash or the dog itself. Plus that avoids the risk of the dog suddenly turning into Cujo and biting me.

All in all this makes it hard to zone out and just get lost in my thoughts. I'm very quickly realizing that is one of my favorite parts of running, the fact that you can just completely glaze you eyes over and sort everything out in your head. I'm having a much harder time doing that lately though with the obstacle course that is my running route. Sometimes when I run I feel like I'm playing that old Nintendo game Paperboy. Don't worry faithful readers it's going to take a lot more than a few dogs and cars to break my running habit. Now it's time for class.