Running outdoors

The weather is getting a little cooler and I couldn't be happier.  After an extended hiatus, I've been trying to get back to running more regularly.  While I prefer running at the Y, I was having trouble finding the time or ambition to get there.  Instead, I've been running outside, around the neighborhood.  I had hoped this would make running more convenient and thus increase the likelihood that I would actually do it.  I think, for the most part, this has been true.  I'm still not running as much as I should, but I wouldn't be running at all if I restricted my efforts to the Y only.

I used to love running outside.  Twenty-five years ago I lived in an apartment near where I live now and I ran down many of these same streets.  But that was twenty-five years ago.  I was faster, slimmer and could run farther.  Even though I ran almost daily, I didn't know any of the people living in the houses I trotted past.  My community was the people I roomed with or worked with, not the surrounding neighborhood.  I shared their streets and sidewalks but otherwise, our worlds had very little in common.  I see people like that today, running through my neighborhood, sharing my street.

I'm not so fond of running outside these days.  I'm older, fatter and in worse shape than I used to be.  I need to be careful to plot a course that won't take me too far from home lest I run out of gas, or pull something and find myself stranded.  I long for the anonymity of my youth, but it's gone.  I know most of the folks I plod past.  Sadly, my running clothes did not magically expand to accommodate my larger size.  Instead, everything fits just little more snug than it should.  My flabby inner thighs do an effective job of swallowing up my shorts as I run along.  I know how bad it looks - I used to look upon people with this condition with a certain amount of smugness and pity.  I've tried reaching down for the occasional corrective tug, but frankly, I think that may draw even more attention to my wardrobe malfunction.  Instead, I've found that if I force a certain amount of bowleggedness into my stride I can almost completely alleviate the problem.  This is sure to cause some sort of knee or hip problem down the road, but it's a price I'm willing to pay.

So, when the weather turned cooler, I was happy.  It was a joy to pop on a pair of baggy sweatpants and go for a non-bowlegged, tuck-free jog.