Not Long Enough

I had my reservations about running down the winding road. The solution was to ride to town with the boys, and then run along the bike trail as the rest of the family took in the sights.

At first the bike trail seemed like a great way to get my 8-10 mile run completed. By the time I had traveled the first mile, I’d crossed several streets already. Still, I was avoiding the cars and the path was different.

I wasn’t even two miles into my run when the path ended abruptly at a park. The Dads lined the soccer field cheering on their boys. At the playground, more Dads pushed their little girls on the swings. It was hard not to think about Tom.

I spotted a dirt path behind the playground. I ventured onto a maze of short trails that wove around the back of the park. I watched the GPS for a good distance to turn back, but found that I had to loop around the park several times just to click off a mile. I turned back towards town as the GPS read 5 miles.

I called the gang when I hit town. They were still in town and were just heading to get a bite to eat. Whew. I only needed to run 4 more miles to reach my goal distance for the day. I did NOT want to run up the hill towards the house.

I took the trail in the other direction. After I had gone a half-mile, however, my phone rang. DD said that they couldn’t find a good place to eat so they were heading back to the house without me. That meant that I would have to run up the hill to get my miles in.

I watched the family go by in my van as I approached the main road. I began plodding up the hill. My heart rate was climbing and my breathing was rapid. I knew, within minutes, that the hill was too tough for me to take. I got on the phone and called for my ride.

I won’t chalk it up to failure. After all, I did run. It wasn’t long enough to log a 10 mile run, but it was close enough.