desperate times

Yesterday was the first time I brought money with me on my run (and I’ve been running since 2002!). Little did I know at the time how important this decision was. I’m not quite sure why I did tuck a 20 dollar bill in my pouch; perhaps I was reminded of my friend Sue who stuck money in her Fuel Belt the day we ran 17 miles together. Interestingly, though, I didn’t pack any money during my 18 mile run last weekend. Perhaps I had a feeling of things to come.

The route I took was 6.5 miles east on the Boston Marathon route from Natick to Wellesley, with a turn-around at the 6.5 mile mark to get back to where I started. The whole way east I had a tail wind, which was quite lovely in many ways. One of those ways is that I didn’t get cold. I’d say it was in the upper 40s, maybe even 50 degrees. I wore shorts, a short sleeved shirt, and a long sleeved shirt over that. I was quite comfortable. The sun was also shining brightly.

Well, guess what happened? I turned around at the 6.5 mile mark and was faced with a terrible head wind. And the clouds had emerged so the nice warm sun was gone. What did this mean? I was COLD!! I think this may have only been the 2nd time ever during a run that I actually got cold (usually the opposite happens to me). I knew that running in these conditions for 6.5 miles was going to be very tough. And as tough as I’d like to think I am, I didn’t want to get myself sick (not this close to marathon day)!

I remembered I had the 20 dollars in my pouch. The turnaround point was near a great store in Wellesley called Thunder Sports. I remembered that they have a “Clearance” rack that has GREAT deals on athletic clothing. So I went into the store, sweaty and smelly as can be, and bought a pink Champion sweatshirt for 20 dollars. Luckily there was no tax! I asked the cashier to take the tags off, I put the sweatshirt on, and off I went. Warm but not overheated. I can’t imagine how cold I would have been without it. You must know that I was desperate if I actually wore COTTON to run in! I never wear cotton, as it absorbs sweat and doesn’t wick it away. But I figured for the purpose of the day, it would be fine. And it was. Now I have a nice new sweatshirt for those cold nights. J

I think I’ll carry money with me on every run from now on…