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Almost Welcoming
Feb. 27th, 2009 11:52 pmIt rained, today, until nearly noon. It rained and the wind gusts were sustained and fierce. Not exactly the sort of day one might've hoped would welcome one back to the outdoor track. But when life has lately seemed like that Jim Morrison song, you know, the one where he sings, "lost in a Roman wilderness of pain," and, appropriately enough, "all the children are insane," what might otherwise have seemed barely tolerable may be felt, in a perverse, Morrisonian sort of way, almost welcoming.
Anyway, unlike a few days ago, when a single, narrow footpath was all that defined one side of an entire eight lane running track, everything but a few slushy patches was now open to daylight. True, the asphalt walk down the hill from above Mooney Ave was hazardous as hell, forcing me to walk a parallel street on the trip back home, but the track itself was almost completely walkable.
Once on it, I was glad for the four layers on top and the three below that my seven years as a bicycle commuter had equiped me to wear. (Amazingly enough, some of what I had on was actually from those times, more than ten years ago.) My personal rule of thumb, in those days, was, "if you've got too much on, you can always peel a layer or two off, but you're truly eff'd if you don't have it with you." And, having walked that incredible wind tunnel, at the base of Sunnycrest, deep into last fall, I knew that a wind-breaking layer over a heavy insulating one would likely be needed on top.
So I filled my water bottle, the one from Wayne's Bike Shop with the hour-glass shape for a good, sure grip out on the road, with the very last of last year's Gatorade and ice and water, and hiked over to the track. The Gatorade was a bit weak, like the remnant it was from a now-expired season. But it, like everything else about this walk, this day, was good enough.
I did my two miles, at a decent pace and with little discomfort, and then, just as the rain was starting again, took the side street home. On my way, I picked up someone else's carelessly discarded energy drink bottle and dropped it in a drum just outside the track. That being my first "rent payment" of the new season. I'll be glad enough if I'm able to say that it wasn't my last...
Anyway, unlike a few days ago, when a single, narrow footpath was all that defined one side of an entire eight lane running track, everything but a few slushy patches was now open to daylight. True, the asphalt walk down the hill from above Mooney Ave was hazardous as hell, forcing me to walk a parallel street on the trip back home, but the track itself was almost completely walkable.
Once on it, I was glad for the four layers on top and the three below that my seven years as a bicycle commuter had equiped me to wear. (Amazingly enough, some of what I had on was actually from those times, more than ten years ago.) My personal rule of thumb, in those days, was, "if you've got too much on, you can always peel a layer or two off, but you're truly eff'd if you don't have it with you." And, having walked that incredible wind tunnel, at the base of Sunnycrest, deep into last fall, I knew that a wind-breaking layer over a heavy insulating one would likely be needed on top.
So I filled my water bottle, the one from Wayne's Bike Shop with the hour-glass shape for a good, sure grip out on the road, with the very last of last year's Gatorade and ice and water, and hiked over to the track. The Gatorade was a bit weak, like the remnant it was from a now-expired season. But it, like everything else about this walk, this day, was good enough.
I did my two miles, at a decent pace and with little discomfort, and then, just as the rain was starting again, took the side street home. On my way, I picked up someone else's carelessly discarded energy drink bottle and dropped it in a drum just outside the track. That being my first "rent payment" of the new season. I'll be glad enough if I'm able to say that it wasn't my last...
