Day 11 - Never Leave a Man Behind

Today's scheduled run: 3 miles

Today's completed run: 4.05 miles
Pace: 9:48

Greetings from Ashe County, North Carolina, home of Christmas trees, cheese, blind sheep, and open spaces.

I had some company on my run this morning. Allow me to introduce you to them:

Josh (12), Olivia (15)

Although they refused to run, they were kind enough to accompany me via bicycle. We ran out of our neighborhood, down toward the New River, along the river and then back up to the neighborhood. The river is touted as being the second oldest river in the world, second only to the Nile. Where they come up with these things, I do not know.

The route was tricky for me because the first 1.2-ish miles is all down hill, the bulk of the middle is flat, and the last 1.2-ish miles is uphill. I don't normally run hills, and this particular hill is long and boring and not fun and filled with barking dogs and long and steep in some places. (I had some help writing that last clause from my giggling bicycle riding companions.)

However, we finished, and I finished 1-mile over the scheduled run for today, so that's nice. Unfortunately, my sister broke a cardinal rule of running and cycling with other people. She left a man behind. Two men, to be more precise. I was holding up the middle of the pack, and Josh was bringing up the tail end; Olivia was nowhere to be seen. By the time we arrived home, she was already lounging in the overstuffed chair in clean clothes.

One of the most wonderful parts of the run was being in the fresh, cold air of rural Ashe County. As an added perk, we were passed at least once by a tree truck, carrying freshly cut Christmas trees and spreading its wonderful scent along behind it.

Pre-run

For our next workout, we'll be heading to WalMart tonight at 10 pm, when it opens for Black Friday sales. How something can open on Thursday and still be considered a Black Friday sale is beyond me, but I don't ask these questions. We've decided to go toothbrush shopping, walking slowly, meandering through aisles with carts, stopping in the middle of the store, and asking as many questions as possible. People will love us.

To all of you, a very happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for?

Until tomorrow...