Beautiful

I got out this morning at 5am, and the weather was just beautiful. The temperature was in the low 50s and there was just a slight drizzle, but drizzly weather has never been something to stop me from running. I even enjoy a nice, light rain. I got out in shorts this morning, with only a t-shirt under my jacket--I only wore the jacket to keep myself somewhat dry, since, between my sweat and the rain, my t-shirt would have been soaked through by the time I finished warming up.

I ran three miles in the cool drizzle, feeling pretty good most of the way. I ran my AAAH run, so named because the first three roads I run on begin with A and the fourth begins with H. I have a five mile run, which begins and ends on the same two streets, which I call the AHH run. For some reason, there were only a few cars on the road, so I didn't have to worry too much about the traffic.

About two miles into the run, my right gastrocnemius started tightening up. I've always hated that muscle, only because I can't pronounce it. I've never heard anyone call it anything but "calf muscle," so I'm not sure how it's actually supposed to be pronounced. Until I hear it pronounced by a PT or a doctor, or an exercise physiologist, When I'm speaking I'll stick to "calf muscle" so I don't get it wrong.

Through the day today, the temperature is supposed to drop into the 20s, and the rain is supposed to change into snow. Tonight, the temp is supposed to drop to around 18, which should make driving very interesting tomorrow morning.

I'm getting some new shoes by mail. How exciting. These shoes will be Asics Cumulus Vs, so I'll only be running in last year's model!!!!

I'm thinking about entering a 5-miler in Rochester on Saturday. If I can get in my 4-mile run on Thursday, maybe I'll try it.


I'm still in the process of naming my running routes on Staten Island--I like to give my routes amusing (to me) names. The only one I've come up with is the aforementioned AAAH run. The others I just refer to by the names of the streets. Back when I lived upstate, it was very easy to give them good names, because the area where I lived had great street names. For instance, the run I called "Cheese Factory" went down Cheese Factory Road, and the "Stony Lonesome Run" was on, you guessed it, Stony Lonesome Road. I also gave some runs names that weren't just the name of the road. The one I called "Get Your Kicks" finished (with a good strong kick) on (County) Route 66. And there was a long run that started in the Corn Hill neighborhood in Rochester, went to Cobb's Hill Park and back. Of course, I called that one the "Corn Cobb Run."