Greetings from Pennsylvania!
We are still here in rural PA, celebrating an extended Thanksgiving with Dr. G.’s family. It was torture an adventure getting down here on Tuesday afternoon. We had horrific car accidents that tied up traffic, a mind-boggling decision by NY DOT to close two lanes of traffic on a main interstate the week of Thanksgiving, and a suddenly car sick Mimi (which included an impromptu “bath” of baby wipes in a sketchy McDonald’s bathroom). Let’s hope we exhausted all our bad travel karma on Tuesday so it will be smooth sailing when we return home on Sunday morning.
In preparing for our trip, I searched high and low for any sort of Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot or road race in a 20-minute radius from the town my in-laws live in, but I (unsurprisingly) struck out. So, instead, I decided to run my own “race” that morning.
I admit, I was curious to run in a totally different environment; this area is very rural, with lots of farms and agriculture — something completely foreign to this former city girl. Knowing how hilly this area is, I laced up my sneakers with the simple goal of just getting out and enjoying a run in the country before filling my belly a few hours later.
And in the process, I learned a few things:
1. It is strange to run when there is a smell of cow manure permeating the air.
2. Drivers in this area do not know how to share the road with runners. Most moved over just enough, but still too close for comfort, and an old lady who had to have been in her 80s literally ran me off the road. Oh, and a tractor trailer who passed by was kind to swerve into the other lane but did not slow down, blowing my visor off my head as he passed. Thanks, dude. It was enough to make me miss suburban sidewalk running.
3. Hilly does not describe the route I took. Yikes.
4. But it was beautiful.
And look, some bird found a yummy treat! For some reason, I was fascinated by these half-eaten ears of corn in the road – not something you see very often in the Boston suburbs.
As a self-admitted creature of habit, it can sometimes be, um, difficult to deviate from my fitness routine and try something new. But I’m proud to say I really enjoyed breaking out of my comfort zone with this run. The hills were definitely brutal, but they were a challenge I oddly enjoyed, and there is something to be said for running in more rural environment, where there are things to look at besides cul-de-sacs, yard sale signs and SUVs barreling past you. I’m looking forward to heading out there again later this morning!
And there’s a good reason why I need to get my workout in: Dr. G. and I have a Thanksgiving weekend tradition to uphold.For the last 3 or 4 years, we’ve met up with our dear friends M and A for beer, food and laughs at Iron Horse Brewery & Restaurant in Phoenixville, PA – the perfect meeting place, since we determined it is about halfway between the town Dr. G.’s parents live in and Philadelphia, where A and M live.
A and I have known each other since our freshman year of college (about 18 years ago!), and her husband, M, is one of the funniest people I know. The four of us have always clicked really well and we miss seeing them more often, so we always try to get together when we’re in this neck of the woods for Thanksgiving. I look forward to this every year!
Question: Do you like to run in new places when you travel?