Run #19: Random Run

I've gotten a lot better about checking the weather and the air quality each morning when I wake up.  I thought St. Louis was unpredictable... well, Shanghai is known to have bright sunny mornings dissolve into blustery grey afternoons, or go from sticky and humid to clear and clean within a day or two.  Imagine my surprise after wearing only a fleece to work to see the temperature was just 37 with wind from the north - brrr, again!  On the other hand, imagine my delight to see the air quality pollution rating was all the way down to 52 - practically healthy!  What a gift!

Continuing my new plan to meet up with Heather K. for a long run on the weekend, I rode my bike over to her apartment and even arrived a few minutes early.  We had good luck with the satellites and got our phones and watches synced for GPS tracking, and took off at our comfortable pace.

Today's run was a bit spontaneous because neither of us had a particular plan, nor a particular route in mind.  So we started out on the same path to the creek, and then made it up as we went along.  As we got to the bridge I commented that a familiar route goes by so much faster the second time, and Heather instantly disagreed.  Maybe I was just more distracted by our conversation than she was; or she was actually paying attention to where we were running and I was just tagging along.  


I thought there was a pleasant path through a creekside park, but it turns out that's much further down the way than we were prepared to run.  Instead we encountered a makeshift market spilling into the street, full of caged chickens, ducks, and pigeons, a variety of veggies, and a small assortment of sea creatures including small fish, shrimp, and unidentifiable squiggly things.  At the next bridge we promptly climbed up and over and were relieved to find a nicely paved path on the other side.  It was so nice I could almost pretend we were running along Lakeshore Drive in Chicago, or any other clean city with appreciation and support for outdoor recreation.

We just kept making up our route at each intersection (straight? right? left?) and eventually got back into Heather's neighborhood.  As we approached the entrance to her apartment compound I realized that the hour and a half had flown by because we had easily fallen into the precious rhythm of running partner banter.  There's something unique about the conversations that happen on a long run; there are no limits or restrictions and there's an unspoken respect for full confidentiality.  There's a wide variety of topics that come up: the usual exchange of racing and running stories; the discovery of unexpected fears or mutual pet peeves; the ranting about anything and everything; the musing over abstract ideas; and of course the shared observations of daily life on the streets.

Rule number one in training for a half marathon is always keep up with the long runs.  That's so much easier to do when you can look forward to the possibility of a new adventure, and at the very least another chance to pass the time and the miles with a fantastic running partner. 

The Fine Print

Date:  3/2/13  Time:  7:00 am    Location:  Shanghai, PRC

Time: 1:25:07    Distance:  8.0 mi    Pace: 10:39

Music: friendly conversation