Thank You For the Advice, Kenny Rogers

Early this morning, PC#2 had things to do and places to be, so I designated myself as the one to get her there so as to not only have a big motivation to get up and out but to also have a new place to run! Everyone wins!

As soon as she was on her way, I was on mine. What's up with this you ask?

What you don't know is the degree to which my teeth were
totally chattering!! It was stinkin' cold!!

Holy zowie it was COLD!! It was 18 degrees, and I'd just gotten out of a warm car. Ahhh ... a failed of cold weather strategy if I ever heard one! You don't go cold turkey ... you eeeeeasse your way. But, whatever, I needed to get going!

I had some observers. The were loud. And, they smelled weakness in my chatter:

"I'm going to dive bomb and eat you, runner."

"Not if I get to her first!"

Okay, as you well know, it doesn't take too long to warm up once you actually get going. About a mile in, I was settled with the temperature which was good because I was about to take on one of those not-so-steep-but-really-steady inclines that only tend to annoy. The cool thing is that when I finished it, without even thinking, I said to myself, "Huh. I'm a lot stronger than I used to be." I was seriously proud of getting to the end of it without so much as a teeny-tiny whine. And, really, if you're not going to celebrate yourself, then who is?

Speaking of celebrating, let me tell you about mile three. There I was just cruising along when I see a man up ahead of me on the sidewalk. I was looking into the sun, so I wasn't sure if he was walking or waiting for a bus. Either way, I did what I always do and hug one side of the sidewalk (or, when required, make space by going in the street). He heard me coming, turned toward me and gave me a very resounding, "Hello!" No, he didn't know me. He was just really drunk. For real. As I passed, he announced -- not just told ... announced -- how he was finding money everywhere along that sidewalk. (Seriously, he did not know me.) This dude was totally celebrating his newfound, supposed fortune.

I have to admit, there was that split second in my mind where I was all, "Oh, really ? Awesome! I'm totally looking along here!" Then, I made a better decision to the tune of, "Keep your eyes straight ahead. Do not look down. Do not be tempted. Keep running." The guy kept going on about the money even when I was well past him. I could hear him, but I have no idea what he was saying. I'm not really sure he knew what he was saying. I'm also not even sure he really saw any money. Any real money.

And, it was at this point that instead of having my latest Half playlist going through my head -- the one I just made last night and is full of music to which I can groove -- I had Kenny Rogers belting out "The Gambler." I found lessons in that song I never knew existed:

"You've got to know when to hold 'em (don't tell the drunk fella you have a penny in your pocket)
'Know when to fold 'em (Eyes. Straight. Ahead.)
'Know when to walk away (Walk? I think not.)
'Know when to run" (On it!)

As this song was going through my head, I came across what looked to be a quarter in the road. I was way past the dude (yes, I looked behind me to make sure), and after determining it was not actually a quarter but some random piece of metal, I threw it behind me. As a decoy. I figured it would make him stop to investigate should he start coming my way.

"You never count your money when you're sitting at the table, there'll be time enough for counting ..." when the run is done!

Needless to say, there were no pictures during this segment. (Can you imagine?)

Even though my drunk conversationalist was well out of sight, I did make an adjustment to my intended route on the fly. My route was supposed to wind its way back toward his post, and even though the odds were that he didn't start wandering as far as I was going, it just made sense to divert. And, check it out, I was rewarded:

There's hardly a better place to look for money than by a
parking meter!

Soon thereafter, I found more money and got a little prize!

WooHoo!! A star!!

'Goes right along with proclaiming my
Rock Star status!

I really enjoyed today's run. It's fun to see your own city through the eyes of a run (or, a walk, that totally works, too!). It also gave me the opportunity to scope the base just about every parking meter our city has (woo-hoo!)! I didn't find any more money, but I was fortunate to not step in the aftermath of someone's good time late last night. Eww ... Ah, I guess that's just what happens when you go by one of the bars the morning after. Or, when my earlier acquaintance gets ahead of me on my path ...

Other findings? Well, there was this ...

It was either super-glued or cemented. Either way, it was just
mean. But, I found a nickel at the store later, so it all ended up
balancing out for the Bank!

... and, there was this:

Don't you kind of want to know what it used to say? I did. I
admit to having a lot of time out there to ponder such things,
though, so maybe it's just me.

I cruised along the rest of the run and finished in unexpected great time. Honestly, I think the cold kept me going! The only way to really warm up was to finish, so I gave myself that directive a handful of times! It seems it worked, and that's the 7-miler in the bag with a 19-degree ending temperature!

And, for those counting, here's the day's prize stash:

19 cents and a star!

It's been a super-long, super-good day from beginning to end, but now I'm hearing the sweet, sweet, siren song of Rest Day!! I'll catch you then! Enjoy your tomorrow!!