It was 60 degrees, calm, and absolutely gorgeous in Scottsdale this morning. It gets light early here because they are in Pacific time so at 6:00am it was light and wonderful.
I ran 8.53 miles and thought about lots of things as I ran. I haven't run at this low of an elevation in several years and I haven't run this FLAT of a run in a long time. Luckily the air was dry so I didn't sweat too much while I ran as the moving air cooled me. But...I was buckets when I stopped.
The biggest thing I noticed was the social (or lack therof) aspect of my run. When I was about a mile in I thought about how different it would be to marathon train in a heavily populated area. A 20 mile run would take more careful planning and I was glad that I do not have that challenge. The thing I noticed, however, was the differnce in large city runners. When I run, I wave, say Hi, or at the very least make cordial eye-contact with other runners and walkers. Whenever I would do that today I was met with indifference, looking-away, and at some points....fear. When I would come up behind another runner they would look at me like I was a stalker ready to attack. I know that this is an inherent reaction because of increased crime rates in bigger cities. I feel bad for them as I think they are missing what I feel is one of the biggest benefits of running......social interaction with other like-minded individuals. On Monday, back at home, I came up behind 4 female runners and said "Stalker Alert" before I caught them. The response was a laugh from all of them and we ran together, chatting for several blocks before I took off on my own path. There was NO WAY that would or even could happen this morning.....more is the pity!
Suffice it to say, I appreciate running where I do even if it means bad weather months and different challenges.
I guess I ran with my eyes wide-open today and didn't really enjoy what I saw...
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