A bit of a crisis. But I got over it

My Thursday run started out ok.

My current running schedule is Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I really look forward to Wednesday after back to back runs but then by Thursday I'm ready to go again.

So Thursday started out ok. I have a nice loop by my office that is mostly on Tukwila's Green River trail. Like most city owned paths this one is nicely paved and maintained and runs right along the Green River/ Duwamush Waterway. The scenery is nice the trail is not busy and everyone that I come across is friendly and either on their way to work or just trying to stay in shape. But I digress... again.

So back to Thursday. I was running along at a good pace, not killing myself but working hard enough to feel it. As I got close to the first group of homes near my first turn where I cross the river I noticed a dog out in the yard sniffing around. As luck would have it he noticed me as well. I slowed to a walk just to see what he was going to do and, sure enough he starts towards me. The dog gets out to the trail and is about 20 yards or so behind me. I am still walking and so is he. I stop and look at him and he stops and looks back at me. I decided I better not run. I'm averaging about a 13 minute mile but my guess is the dog can move considerably faster. Luckily for me one of the regular bikers was coming along behind and saw what was going on, slowed down and put himself between the dog and me. I was able to start running again and the dog lost interest. I appreciated the riders help and thanked him as he sped off. I'm not sure but he was probably considering the old wisdom when hikers cross paths with a bear. He didn't have to be faster than the dog, just faster than me...

I was back on pace and cruising along pretty well when the real crisis came. I was about two and half miles out and working hard when the question came to my mind "what in the world am I doing out here running around at 6:30 in the morning?" It seemed like a fair enough question. So I slowed to walk to think this through. As I looked around at the river and the sunrise and trees covered in spring leaves and thought about the benefits I have already gotten from these past few weeks it all seemed worth it. It was a beautiful spring morning, golfing weather we call it at work, watching the neighbors waking up and starting their day and actually feeling good about the workout I get when I run my pace picked back up and I was on my way again. Crisis averted. I finished strong and completed 3.75 miles in just over 48 minutes.

I was talking to a co-worker who is a pretty avid runner about this little mental meltdown I had. His response was "you went nearly 4 miles in just under 50 minutes? no wonder you had a mental lapse."

So I felt good about that.