The Essence of Air

I went running in Hermann, Mo., the other morning and it was a bit of a shocker.

The last four months I've been complaining about the trials and tribulations of working out with no air. Now, I have almost too much of it. It's so heavy and tangible I can feel it resting on my skin as I run, and it's almost too thick to breathe in as quickly as I need it. But, I'm not at 8,000 ft. anymore, so I guess it's relatively easier.

And, this might be TMI, but I haven't sweat this much since D.C.! I simply walked outside at 8 a.m. to test the weather and started sweating bullets.

A couple other observations from my run:

Hermann is situated on the banks of the Missouri River. A brand spankin' new bridge just went in a while ago and it includes an exercise path. As I ran over the river I felt like I was running over the Potomac on Memorial Bridge. I loved that route - looking out over the river with the early morning rowers at practice, seeing the Kennedy Center, the banks of Georgetown, and the view of the Lincoln Monument as you cross back over the bridge into town, which is my most favorite view in D.C.

As I was crossing the bridge a whole flock of birds - sparrows? starlings? not sure - would fly up from below sqwaking and hovering very close overhead. They made me laugh, but they also made me think of Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. I ran a little faster.

Hmmm...maybe having wildlife chase me will improve my running time. On second thought nevermind. I'll just keep plodding.