I went for a run just now. I mean, I actually went for a run. Twenty minutes duration, of which half was running, the other half brisk walking. I chose the public footpath that parallels the creek at the bottom of my garden rather than the pavement, mainly because I hate being watched. Even so, when I reached the paved section past the townhouses, quite a few people were out and about. I always feel like someone's going to yell out "Yo, old fat mama, give it up!" - especially the skinny teenagers whizzing by on their skateboards/bikes/rollerblades.
Of course, five minutes in, my left knee started to hurt. I should mention that the footpath is extremely uneven, being essentially a natural creek bank, and is criss-crossed with tree roots. Anyway like hell was I going to give up before I'd even begun! I sat down on the concrete ledge above the culvert and watched the mallards swimming down the creek, and the wild grey rabbits bounding to and fro. I saw black and grey squrrels, as well as a variety of birds: redwings, robins, thrushes and cardinals. I watched the sun shimmer through the delicate draperies of weeping willow. Then I got up and started to run again.
As I reached the paved section, I remembered some advice from a runner friend (thanks Ashley!): put your heels down first when you run. I made a concerted effort to do this; and lo and behold, the pain in my knee vanished! I was amazed, and very pleased, and managed to run to the main road without pain. I turned around, walked a bit, then ran again, turning off at the townhouses to take the footpath back along the creek, alternating run/walk until I reached my house.
All in all, I was quite happy with how it went. It's been dry today, so my sneakers didn't get too muddy, and my new grey jogging pants from Winners are really comfortable and didn't make me too hot.
In case anyone's interested, here are some photos of my running route. (not taken today, of course - these were taken last year, but it's still the same)
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