I knew my Thanksgiving weekend would be filled with food, wine and family and friends. I knew I would kick it all off with the Turkey Trot on Thursday morning. Secretly I was concerned I’d slack in my physical activity after that. My “no zero days” pledge was possibly in jeopardy. Only it turns out staying active and challenging myself was easier than I thought. Let me walk you through it:
I’ve already espoused my love of the Turkey Trotfor this year, my approach of running in gratitude. After the race, I met up with my dad at our prearranged location and he drove me home. A quick shower and a slam of chocolate milk and my parents and I were off to join extended family in Newark, N.Y. which is also known as the middle-of-nowhere central New York. But very lovely indeed.
For the record, this was not taken on Thanksgiving. But you get the point. Action Ellie.
It was a beautiful day and I went into the backyard with with 2-year-old niece Ellie (who had already shown off her summersault abilities in the house). The backyard was spacious, crossing over a creek, with infinite room to run around. Particularly when you’re 2 and your legs are short. So Ellie and I ran up and down and all around the backyard. “I’m running!” Ellie yelled, just in case anyone didn’t know what she was doing at the time. Then she’d fall down. Then work to push herself up. Then run again. I did the same, only my push up to standing involved an actual pushup. I dubbed it “Baby Crossfit.”
(Disclaimer: It wasn’t really Crossfit or anything really resembling Crossfit. I have yet to attend a Crossfit class though I keep telling my friend Karl I will. It’s not that I’m scared and intimidated, though I totally am, it’s that I’m still recovering from being yelled at and terrified in Bikram Yoga class a few years ago.)
Earlier in the week I was thinking about how to spend my Friday, which was most definitely not going to be shopping. (Disclaimer: I like to shop, but as recreation not sport.) Somewhere in my memory bank I pulled out the memory that a local hiking group does an annual day-after Thanksgiving hike at Chestnut Ridge Park. And so that is how I ended up at a trail head with the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club late Friday morning. The weather had turned colder. It was windy with the threat of rain, but I was game. As my father says, “Any time spend in the woods is time well spent.” And over the last year I’ve gained enough knowledge to make these outings comfortable and fun. And adventure. So off we went.
The Eternal Flame
There were 18 of us with varying degrees of speed. I stayed pretty close to the front with our group leader, Cheryl. She took us on an easier route than originally planned but one that still involved hills and ravines and some water crossings. We stopped to let others catch up and I had some nice chats about my novel-writing process with some of the other hikers along the way. Near the end of our 4.5-miles of trails, we took a jaunt down to the Eternal Flame, a legendary highlight of Chestnut Ridge Park. There have been written accounts of the flame dating back to the late 1800s. The flame (which sometimes need to be lit with the help of humans) is the result of a pocket of natural gas. And frankly, it’s pretty cool. The hike was a perfect mix of distance, difficulty and speed to work off that third piece of pie. It was a refreshing time, both being in nature and spending time with people I don’t know. I used to find those conversations difficult and awkward. Over time I have either gained more confidence or lost that self-critical voice that is always wondering how other people see me. (In all likelihood, it’s a litte bit of both).
Home from the hike and preparing to settle in to work on my writing, I got a text from my good friend Sue. Turns out, she is home for the weekend and wondered if I wanted to go running with her Saturday morning. Deal.
I woke up to howling winds and cold temperatures. But that didn’t matter. One of my best friends was back in town for a little time and I was going to make the most of it. We met a little after 7:30.
“What do you have to do today?” Sue asked me regarding my run distance.
“All that is on my training plan is Run with Sue,” I replied. “I’m up for whatever, but I’ll be a little slow.”
“Good. My plan was Run with Amy. So we’re on the same page.”
We picked one of Sue’s newer routes. Neither of us wore a watch. We had no idea of our pace. We just ran and talked — about life, about training, about life some more. We had an option to change up the route, to make it 4 miles instead of 6. Left to own devices we each would have done just 4 miles (or stayed in bed). But being together meant we could go a bit further. We finished the 6 miles and it felt fantastic. Afterward we went to our favorite post-run spot to split a specialty bagel.
Any time spent in the woods is time well spent.
Talk about blessings. Without even thinking about it and with just minimal planning, I spent the holiday weekend doing everything I loved. No zero days. It doesn’t have to be as difficult I as make it out to be in my head. In fact, very little is as difficult as I make it out to be in my head. If I can hold on to this notion through the rest of the year, I wil be in a very good place to start 2013.
