She carefully put on layer upon layer of finery including: YakTrax, Ghost 5s, wicking underthingies, running tights, running pants, insulated running shirt, fleece, gloves, balaklava, hat, sunglasses, garmin, ipod, hydration belt with 1 bottle water and 1 bottle coconut water, 1 lara bar and a phone. Oh she loves the magic of the tinkers, tailors and alchemists who make all sorts runs possible!
She knew that she was very well prepared for an 11 mile run in 27 degree weather. As a matter of fact, she got to take off the YakTrax because the trails were 50% clear. She was just VERY careful when running under bridges and in the places people don't think shoveling is necessary. She even got to take off the balaclava for 5 or 6 miles because the wind was at her back.
It was a hard run, but the princess paid attention to the philosophers of the craft of which she is merely among the novitiate. She slowed her pace and adjusted her expectations. Suffering is only in your mind, the wise said. Physical and Mental Toughness have to be earned the hard way, her tutors proclaimed. And so, the princess ran on....albeit at a pace more plodding than graceful.
Still, there was some joy to it all. There were no bicyclists on the path (commuters, but no roadies), and there was a kind-hearted camaraderie with other runners. People all smiled at the princess as if to say "We are an insane, but honorable brotherhood, come join us as we drink of our pain and feast on our successes".
The princess was startled when she thought she had run afoul of one of the citizens in the kingdom who, appeared to have a severe and persistent lack of quality mental health care and need to address his condition with the tinctures and postions offered by less than savory local apothecaries. She chided herself for her narcissism when she realized that shouting and aggressive shovel (!?!) weilding was not directed at her, but rather at another citizen who appeared to be in similar straights as the first.
The princess moved on, and checked in with Prince when she reached 4.86 miles. She indicated that she would continue forth down the frigid path and go head towards the Bazaar where a great many wonderous non-compostable, non-reusable things are found all wrapped up in shining little packages.
Feeling better, having worked heavily on her attitude, the princess reached her turn-around and headed back to the castle. The path was the same, slippery, cold path, but she noticed that the run always seems nicer when heading into the final stretches. She couldn't run very fast, but her spirits began to rise with the rosy-warm promise of a shower just minutes away.
Upon returning to the castle, the princess checked in with the prince, and he helped her strip off the layers of clothing which ranged from frigid to sweaty. The princess made a startling discovery! While she had heeded the words of the running sages, she had completely forgotten the teachings of the chemists. Her bottle containing only water had burst open at the top and had slowly leaked water down the back of her pants for quite some time....leaving 1 entire buttock completely soaked through and well on its way to frostbite AND solidly frozen water in and around the spout of the bottle! Thank goodness she was wearing synthetic, wicking fibers--surely cotton would have lead to the most dire peril!
Prince Charming, haven taken wilderness first responder courses, promptly drew a warm (105 degree) bath for the Princess. She cried out as she thawed out, but it appeared that the damage was minimal. 45 minutes later, warm and pink from her bath, the Princess feasted on huge quantities of delicious, locally sourced, whole foods.
Then, she went to bed. Happily ever after TBD, but prospects look good!
No comments:
Post a Comment