Okay, I admit it. I'm stubborn. Really really stubborn sometimes. But it wasn't stubborness that got me off the couch and out running today. It was the chance to go for a long slow run through my favourite city in the sunshine.
Let me back up. Yesterday was a pretty tough day.
It started out well enough. I had a leisurely coffee before driving to Halifax to meet an old classmate for breakfast, which I enjoyed very much. But, unfortunately, as the morning wore on, a sinus headache and slight fever which had been threatening since the night before descended so that I was feeling quite ill by the time I headed home. To make matters worse, my car was rear-ended when I stopped at a four-way stop en route. Fortunately, the accident resulted in no serious damage to either me or the car (at least, so far as I know at this point) but, by the time I got back to the apartment, all I wanted to do was take some meds and curl up on the couch to sleep for the rest of the afternoon - which is in fact what I did.
Given how lousy I felt yesterday, I wasn't at all sure I'd be up to running my planned 24km long run today, but the sunshine was so enticing I decided to start and see how it went. Sensibly, I took my bus pass and some cash with me in case I needed to cut the run short.
As it turned out, no bus was required. In fact, once I was underway, it felt great to run across the bridge that connects Dartmouth and Halifax and through beautiful snow-covered neighbourhoods in the north and south ends, before circling Point Pleasant Park (which is where the picture above was taken), and running north to the Hydrostone district, back across the bridge and along the Dartmouth waterfront to my apartment.
The whole run felt like an amazing gift. I hadn't run in Halifax since I moved back to HRM a few months ago, so it was like visiting an old friend. And I love the city. I do. I love it for its history, its small scale and its shabby beauty. I love it for its drivers who stop and let you cross the road - even when you're not at a crosswalk. I love it for the friendliness of the people who smile and say hello as a matter of course. And I love it just because it's my place - the place where I feel more myself than almost anywhere else in the world.
Added to which, the sunshine today was glorious - even if the wind was bitter at times. And it felt great to be able to run the distance so relatively easily. I was a little tired during the last 3 or 4 kilometres but not nearly as fatigued as I was at the end of my 22km run two weeks ago so it seems my training is paying off.
In short, it was another beautiful Halifax run - and I feel very grateful that my body and the weather cooperated so that I could do it. Here's hoping I "cooked" whatever "bug" made me feel so ill yesterday so that I start my work week strong and healthy.
P.S. I just got off the phone with my husband who reminded me that today is our 24th "first date" anniversary so it's perfect that today's long run was 24kms. After all, it's only with his love and support that I've been able to make running such a big part of my life.
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