Go, you chicken fat, go away!

It's Spring Break for the kids this week.  Like last year, we decided to take a mini-vacation up to Pinetop, AZ.  Well, last year we went to Heber, AZ, but you get what I mean.  I looked at the map on Google and decided on a way to go.  I had to turn left at the first road to the south, run to the end, then turn east and run as far as my heart desired.  The elevation in Pinetop where we stayed is around 7,300.  When I turned on that road it immediately starts going uphill.  Between the slight uphill, the cold, and the altitude, I thought I might die.  Luckily I didn't.  I got to the end of the road where I was supposed to turn east and I saw that it was gated.  I had no choice but to go west.  This would take me through the neighborhood.  We were renting a cabin at a country club on the south side of town.  After turning west, I started to feel a little better.  The elevation leveled out and even started going downhill a bit.  It had rained during the night and there were places on the road where I was running that it literally sounded like I was wearing spikes.  I worried that I might wake up the neighbors.  As I rounded a curve I passed this gentlemen out walking his dog.  He was all bundled up.  As he saw me coming he started to yell encouraging things at me in what I'm guessing was a German accent.  I can't remember everything he said but he said something about my muscles.  Then he told me I was very brave for wearing shorts.  I was very brave.  Very brave indeed.

I continued going and I had to look at my map on Strava to see what would be a good route.  I could see that if I made a loop around the neighborhood that it would be right around 4 miles, and that seemed perfect.  Once the loop turned back east again, I was heading uphill.  There was a garbage truck that had passed me.  It was trying to grab a garbage can that seemed just out of its range.  He tried several times to get a good grip on it, but he finally had to get out and move it.  I was able to pass him when he did and I saw another garbage can up the street that was tipped over.  I decided to be a good Samaritan and pick it up for him.  I lifted it and it felt quite empty.  I took a quick look inside and it was completely empty.  Then I realized it was a recycle bin.  So no good deed goes unpunished, I guess. 

I finished the loop and actually felt pretty good about it.  I wasn't overly frozen either.