Needed to alter my normal running routine this weekend due to leaving town tomorrow. Katie G and I decided to get it done early on Saturday morning. I was not expecting such a cold run. These mild temps lately have spoiled me. It was 11 degrees out with a 17mph wind. Wind in the face proved to be pretty darn cold! However, both of us dressed for the occasion and made our way out into the cold. We decided to run a route that we had not run before. We met at Satrbuck's on Middle Rd and decided to head to Davenport. Little did we know we would hit two bridges and three cities along this route. I will probably say this was the coolest running route I have been on in a while, maybe it was because it was out of the ordinary or just because we crossed bridges? I do know one thing, this will be an awesome summer route. We took off through McClellan Heights on Middle Rd. down through the East Village of Davenport to hit the bike path on the river. That took us to the Rock Island Arsenal Bridge. We headed over that and along the bike path in Rock Island along the river and through the RI District over to the Centennial Bridge and back to downtown Davenport. Running through downtown Davenport was pretty awesome in the early morning hours. Not to much movement but was nice to actually see how nice this place could be. We continued on the back to the bike path and back through the East Village and then we met our match...The Middle Rd. Hill, Holy Batman, the sucker is huge! I am glad we were towards the end because, I am not sure I could have handled much more, it is steep, long and took my heart rate to the max. It is good to incorporate those type of hills but that might be the biggest beast I have run in a while! I think it is mental too, about halfway up it turns and you think that is it, but NO WAY! Again, there will always be always be struggles in whatever you do. Positive thinking CAN take you a long way. I CAN say that I have conquered that hill and it will get better every time I do! We ended our run at Starbuck's on purpose so we could get a nice cup of warm coffee. And it was just that, a nice warm place to sit and enjoy some good conversation and coffee. This was the quickest pace I have run double digits in a while so it did feel good to push our pace a little this morning.
Along the run we had some good conversation, as always. One thing stuck out in my head about this conversation we had was about individuals and relationships. It is funny how we all seem to go through life and we put our lives on pedestals. No matter if it is work, individual goals, relationships, we seem to think we are standing out there alone. I am not talking pedestals like we are the best but pedestals that we are the only ones that experience the things we do or situations we encounter. For example, in a relationship that we are the only ones that have communication problems with our spouses or at work that we are the only ones feeling like we are swamped or while exercising that we are the only ones struggling to accomplish a goal of some sort. In reality, I think we all experience some sort of set backs when we try and put ourselves out on a limb or pedestal and think we are the only ones going through it. We are all humans and experience different things in life, but when it comes down to it, we all have a lot of similarities too. Communication is imperative to any situation we may encounter. I think that is one thing I love about the groups I workout with is because a lot of those frustrations come out and it helps. It also makes me think about other communications I need to have and how much more important those are and the need for them to take place to make life a better place. Amazing the thought processes that you encounter at 5 a.m. in the morning and how much they make sense. Good thoughts to start a weekend! I CAN make better use of my communication skills and make life and the situations I encounter better.
Have a great weekend, what CAN YOU make out of the situations you encounter?
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