Today I got to run someplace other than from the end of my driveway.

I have to admit, it was nice. It would have been nicer if I had remembered to put on my damn face mask before I left the truck. No, I didn’t get ticketed or “talked to”. It was more a boneheaded move by someone who knows better. I am the guy who either has or is wearing my face mask whenever I leave the yard.

Today I forgot it, I left three of them sitting on the passenger seat of the truck. Of course, there are natural and logical consequences for doing dumb shit. I had to change my planned run. Especially, since I was in Augusta, and there would most likely be people around where I was going to be running. 

Sometimes I wonder about myself, but then again, I had a reason this time, not just an excuse.

After I got to the parking lot and was getting ready to run, this old beater car drives in and parks directly in front of me – the girl was driving and a guy sitting in the passenger seat. Then let’s say some things happened that I didn’t want to see or keep watching. I don’t think they realized someone was still in my vehicle, until the guy pointed at me. Things were just a bit too weird and I felt very uncomfortable. There was no way I was leaving my vehicle unattended with those people still there.

I decided to move to a different lot where I knew security cameras were set up and parked there. When I ran by, the car was still there, and I felt confident that I had done the correct thing by moving. Sometimes you have to trust your gut.

Originally I had planned on doing a 10K around Cony Road, and with the temps in the mid-30s, bright sunshine, and just gentle breeze, it was the perfect day for it.

At first I thought about going a little harder than usual and pushed the first couple of hills. Then I had to stop to answer a couple of texts that I received about the errands I had done earlier. I don’t get too many texts, so these I had to respond to.

After that interruption, my focus was not where it needed to be for a harder effort, so I changed it to running at a comfortable effort level. Sure I could have kept pushing, but it is January, with no races on the calendar with COVID-19 still raging around, it simply is not time yet to be pushing harder.

The first mile felt good, and the second mile was the same pace, which did surprise me. Although it was nice to be just running someplace different and not worrying about footing, big hills, or looking at the same scenery as I have for pretty much the past ten months.

Then just past the first mile, I figured out that I didn’t have my face mask. 

Dumbshit!!!

1. I almost always have one with me or am wearing it as a chin guard even while running in rural areas. 
2. I guess the deal with that odd vehicle flustered me enough that I wasn’t paying sufficient attention to figure out that I didn’t put it on.
3. It meant that I had to figure out a different route. No way was I going to run in front of the school or through neighborhoods without a mask
4. Especially, since they are required in a public place by the Governor, and I am pretty much lawful good, so I changed my plans on the fly.

So during mile 3, I decided to go ahead and turn in at Piggery Road off Cony. It would shorten the run, but there would be many fewer people on that course. Unfortunately, I also knew that it would mean running on snow-covered double track on upper Piggery since they don’t usually plow the Cony side in the Winter.

Not really what I wanted to do.

When I got over to Piggery Road I turned in and slowed down a bit while on the snow/white ice sections. Some parts were decent footing and had melted enough for my Meraki’s to get some grip, but others, the white ice was still too firm, and the side the snow was just enough to be a pain.

I still finished the run with a smile on my face and hadn’t kissed any snow on upper Piggery, so it was all right. If I hadn’t been such a putz and forgotten my face mask, I would have had an excellent comfortable effort 10K and altogether avoided running on the snow/white ice.

Even so, I enjoyed seeing something different than I usually got to look at and didn’t recognize too many of the rocks or trees this time.

Although I was still a bit weirded out by that couple in the car.