A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Too Good to Pass Up



I'll be honest, I had no plans to run this week after Monday night. Tuesday was busy from start to finish and Wednesday Jason and I flew to Flagstaff, Arizona to visit family. And go skiing (more on skiing in the weekly summary post on Monday). Between the travel and the plans to ski I didn't figure I'd get in a run.

But when we landed in Flagstaff with plenty of daylight and free time before dinner I knew I had to go for a short run. The views are too good to pass up.




Of course, since I hadn't originally planned on running I didn't bring any of my usual running stuff. I only had an older pair of running shoes, no Garmin, no visor, no running socks.

What I did have were running tights and tops since those make great skiing base layers. I borrowed a hat from my mother in law and decided my regular socks and older shoes would be okay for a short run. I also have a GPS app on my iPhone that would do just fine as a Garmin substitute. Although, really, with the elevation I usually just run for time and not for distance when I run in Flag. Going from 600 feet above sea level to 7000 feet above sea level makes a BIG difference!



The paths that cross through my in-laws neighborhood are beautiful. I knew if I stuck to those there was little chance of getting lost. Plus, I had my phone with me just in case I needed to navigate. So I just enjoyed the views, nodded at all the people walking their dogs, ignored my pace and ran for 45 minutes.



After spending the day on airplanes it felt great to get outside in the crisp mountain air. I'm glad I was flexible enough to make due with what I had and get in a run. Like I said, it was too good to pass up.