I just finished Week 3 with a long, slow, steady walk of 5.7 miles. 13,771 steps. 570 calories. If there's any doubt that it took a lot out of me, see the picture, below. This morning was probably the most difficult for me to crawl out of bed and hit the trail. The alarm went off, as it always does, at 4:30am and at 5-minute intervals until I haul myself out of bed. (What!? You think my CAT is going to roust me from my slumbers?)
This time I found the unnatural call of the iPhone klaxon completely resistible. My body screamed, “Go away! Let me sleeeeeeeep!!” with equal urgency. It wasn’t until the dulcet tones of my 5:10 alarm (signaling my normal time to leave) that I pulled my covers back and hit the floor, only to stumble toward my morning ablutions.
The net result of all this is that I didn’t start my “run” until after 6am. There’s a very good reason for starting so early: It gets rather warm this time of year, quickly, when the sun comes up. (Funny how that works!)
Between the heat and the huge throng of runners and bicyclists who seem not to care about the other people on the Katy Trail, it can be pretty disconcerting if you are there much beyond 7am. Come to think of it, I’ve only had 2 people wish me a good morning this entire week on the Katy.
At Bachman, about half the people I encountered either said “Good morning!” or nodded or kicked out their chin to acknowledge me. Katy draws a much more serious crowd, I’m inclined to believe.
Even as hard as getting up is, going to bed, for me, is even more difficult. And, yet, that seems to be the key for me to being more focused and at ease as I train for the Turkey Trot.
