It's not about the run, sometimes

I really did not want to run this morning.

Or, to be more precise, I wanted TO HAVE run, but I really did not feel up to engaging in the actual activity (almost like when Jack Eaton used to say, during a close Tigers game, "I wish it were over and we'd won."). My legs were extra tight from my long run and basketball playing Monday and my not-quite-as-restorative-as-I'd-hoped bike ride to and from work yesterday.

Maybe because I seem to have developed some good habits about running in the morning, or perhaps because of sheer vanity ("Remember what you ate yesterday!"), I brewed and drank a cup of coffee, donned my running garb, and headed out the door at about 5:45. I started slowly, wincing a little at each step. "I'll loosen up as I go," I thought. A mile into the run, my legs were still stiff. Two miles, no real improvement.

The sky slowly began to lighten. I noticed other runners, fellow early risers, running in pairs, chatting. I saw several cats darting beneath cars and underneath bushes (my dog loves to chase cats, and I seem to have acquired his habit of looking for them when I'm walking or running outside). And then, over in the Yorkshire neighborhood at about 6:15, I saw the azaleas. Some larger homes had rows of them extending twenty, thirty feet or more. I love seeing the azaleas in April; it may be my favorite thing about Memphis. The best are those that do not seem to have been planted for neatness' or symmetry's sake, but just splash pink against white against red against fuchsia, colors elbowing colors, blossoms overflowing onto the grass as if they'd been poured into a glass too quickly. The Yorkshire neighborhood absolutely bursts with azaleas.

Despite my vanity, despite my aches and pains, and despite my sleepiness, for those few, fleeting minutes, I was thankful.

Running log: 6 miles on neighborhood streets.

Beer log (evening update): Having purchased a 4-pack of Unibroue Trois Pistoles for a friend, I decided to drink one of the bottles of the same I'd had in my fridge for some time. Unibroue's slogan is "Drink less, drink better!" With beer this tasty (and strong--9.0% ABV), I could follow that imperative.