ORN

The title above refers to what real runners call Obligatory Running Notes. It's a sort of training log that helps them get to and stay at the top of their form. Obligatory running notes for me are more an extended form of whining. ;-)

Today I ate 3(!) cranberry scones. They were totally delicious, not that I'm patting myself on the back or anything (although I am) since I made them from scratch all my little self with only the merest help from a recipe. Ok, a lot of help from a recipe. But they were too tempting to resist this morning. And after eating three of them, well, I felt compelled to run at least a mile for each extra scone I ate. Not that I probably even worked off the calories for even a quarter of one of those tasty buttery goodnesses. But I did actually push myself out the door so that's a plus.

On that note, when does "have to run" become "want to run" and please can't it come sooner rather than later because my own motivation doesn't seem to be standing me in particularly good stead these days.

Today's run offered a dilemma I haven't faced in quite a while. Sleeveless shirt to prevent the potential farmer's tan look or short sleeves to hide the mad flapping of the bingo wings on the undersides of my flabby, pasty, sunless arms? I love spring but the unveiling of the flesh is a bit distressing at the moment. (Multiple scones daily won't help that problem either.)

Not only do I need to start getting back into the running frame of mind, I really need to find someone to run with since company makes me happy. I didn't mind running alone when we lived in the frozen northland. I just got out and did it. And by doing it, I discovered a whole group of people with whom to exercise. I had H. for spin and tennis. I had M. and C. and J. for running in the evening and weekends. I had K. for running before school. I was spoiled beyond belief and it made me happy. And I ran a lot. I had running buds down here when we first got here but I stopped really running and now I can't keep up with them. I know all the runners in my neighborhood and they have always been way too fast for me (uh...Boston anyone?). And so having been spoiled, I am now finding it hard to get myself out there and go it alone. Dare I say it? Yes, I find my own company while exercising, dead boring. Running with myself is like being trapped in a conversation with a person who ignores all your social cues that you want to be released while you are too well-raised to walk away from them in mid-sentence. So you see my problem? Must get more interesting internal dialogue going on or look into hiring the crane to hoist me off my couch a couple of years (and several thousand scones) from now.

Now I'm off to the grocery store to buy bleach. Oh the exciting life I lead! Maybe I should have run there and back, although I suspect they frown on customers pulling sweaty money out of their bras to pay for their groceries. But I could have called carrying the bleach home while I ran a cardio-weight workout!