Hey there, blog

Hi Blog, I see that you're still here. Although how pitiful you are looking, starved by your recent lack of attention. Yes, I know, our relationship needs work. I keep think that I will write you a post about this, or a post about that, but then do I write the post? No. I know, communication is not my strong point.

So I'm writing this post, short and boring though it is, just to get over the roadblock I seem to have built to posting. It's not much, but it's something.

I finally, finally, finally went for a run yesterday. It's been almost a month since my last half-hearted run with Marshal, my sister's dog, before Christmas. This lack of running is partly due to the snow and ice we had on the ground and partly due to inertia. When not running, it is so easy to keep on not running. (Just as when not blogging, it is so easy to keep not blogging.)

But I'd been a lump most of the weekend, and I was really feeling the need to get out and move, and it was a nice day, so I changed, and put on my new running shoes (bought before Christmas, but only worn for that one run-walk with Marshal), and headed out for the canal in the fading light.

We've had a bit of a warm up over the past several days, and the accumulated snow and ice are pretty much gone from the sidewalks. I expected the canal path to also be clear. Not so. There was still quite a bit of ice in places, of the skating-rink variety, so my new running shoes got well and truly baptized in the mud on the side of the path.

I ended up running (with just a few short walk breaks) not quite 3 miles along the canal and streets on the way back. It was a fairly average run, good to be moving if a bit sluggish.

The canal, by the way, was still frozen pretty solid, except for under the bridges. It froze over a bit last year, but nothing like this. Last weekend I walked along the canal, and some brave folks were walking and biking on the ice. Ok, that was probably safe, given that the weather hadn't been above freezing for several weeks. But driving a car? That takes a special kind of crazy.

Slow Running

I went for a run today. A very slow run. The clouds in the sky were low and threatening, and my legs just did not want to move. And then there was the wind. Today was not terribly windy by Edinburgh standards. That means it was pretty darn windy by my standards. I've decided that running into the wind, even at the very slow pace I was capable of today, is just not fun.

I basically had to trick my legs into running. After making my weekly trip to the grocery store, I talked my legs into a bit of stretching, now that they were warmed up from the walk to the store, and since it wasn't raining yet, wouldn't it be nice to go down and to the canal and see the ducks?

The canal was very busy today. I think it's the first time I've been down there on a Saturday. I passed kids playing soccer. I'm pretty sure they were running faster than me. But then, they're littler, which means they have less wind resistance. There were rowers out on the canal; crew teams from some school or club, I think. Their coaches road bikes along the path to keep up with teams and shout advice. And of course there were the usual ducks and dogs. I really need to figure out a way to take pictures while running, because there were some really good opportunities today. Like the little kid in a Superman costume. And the duck bottoms.

Even though my run this morning definitely falls under the not fun category, I'm glad I did it. Not because afterwards I felt amazingly great, which sometimes happens, but because of the sense of accomplishment of making yourself do something that you know you should do, but that you really don't want to do. Also, today's run marked the end of two weeks of sticking to my running plan. And I have the stars to prove it.

The Union Canal

A couple weekends ago, I took myself for a walk along the Union Canal. I'd been told the canal was a nice place to walk, and it's only a short 5 minute walk away from my flat. Once I got there, I realized that I am a complete idiot. I could have been going for walks along here since I moved here, almost a year ago.





It was a beautiful day. Fall, my favorite time of year, was in full swing. Folks were out walking their dogs, running, and riding bikes. People smiled when you passed them. I passed a grandpa and grandkid feeding bread to some of the local wildlife. There are lots of ducks. I like ducks.

This morning I went for a run/walk down by the canal. Even though two weeks have passed, it's still beautiful with fall. After about 10 minutes, it started to feel like my soul had just released a long sigh and eased down into a comfy, soft sofa. That's really the only way I can think to describe it. I must, must, must make this part of my routine.

Below are a few more pictures that I particularly liked from my walk a couple weeks ago. The sweet kitty is one that I passed on the way home who let me pet her for a few minutes. Getting to scratch a cat behind his or her ears always makes my day.