Saturday run

I have been feeling really terrible in general, and I always have a mental tailspin whenever I have to go and stay in a random hotel somewhere; this one's no exception. I am just pretty depressed, that's the long and short of it: I was in very low spirits all fall and winter, and while moving back to New York and getting back in the classroom in January gave me a good initial mood boost, the spring semester is not designed as a cure to anhedonia, it is too taxing in its own right. Nothing really can get much better till mid-May, when the school semester is done and I can mentally regroup and recover; in the meantime I will just plug on as best I can.

The schedule said 60-90 minutes running; I didn't go quite as long as I'd hoped, but really it was just a victory to get out there at all. I got up for breakfast but then couldn't really do anything other than go back to bed. There was no doubt in my mind, though, about the importance of doing my run: running is a very reliable mood elevator!

The hotel clerk, after I told her about my running needs and my poor sense of direction, suggested that I simply go out and back on Devine St. It was a good notion, but I think it is hard for the non-runner to conceptualize the sort of distance needed; after about 2 miles of pleasant residential running, I hit serious strip mall territory. No trees/shade, tons of traffic, so I took a left and ran along another road (Baseline Boulevard, perhaps?) for a while, until I crested a hill and thought about how many hills I had already run down and how many more I might have to run up in order to get back to my starting point...

Very good sidewalks and pedestrian crossings throughout, two thumbs up for safety and convenience. It's in the mid-70s and pretty humid in Columbia, SC today, pleasant with breeze and shade but a bit hot for me in the sun and with no acclimation; I drank at least a liter of water over the 1+hr I was out there, which is quite a lot for me. Hit the hotel around the 1:05 mark, could have done another loop of some sort but it was just starting to rain and I can see out the window that we are now in the thick of a torrential downpour, so I think it was for the best that I didn't.

(I'll perhaps just run 40-60 minutes tomorrow morning too, as it has such a beneficial effect on my mood...)

What I'm here for (you already know this if you read my other blog!): the posthumous premiere of my friend Helen's film The Florestine Collection. Helen's mother Becky had a very lovely barbecue last night at her house, and has loaned each of us (females) one of the Florestine dresses to wear this evening - it is a very good thought, I will make sure to get a picture of some sort...

1:05, 5.6mi. (slow - it was warm, and I was pacing to go for 1:30 - might run at a slightly brisker pace tomorrow!)