A Letter to the Wind

Dear Wind,

Getting this off my chest is long overdue.  I contemplated opening up earlier this week but I've been making a concerted effort not to blog when my emotions might be getting the best of me but I just can't take it anymore.  I don't understand you, I think you're completely unnecessary, and if you never blew again I wouldn't miss you.  You turn cool days cold, cold days frigid, and transform rain drops into flying ice picks.  You also create turbulence which results in a white knuckle-sweaty palm flight to wherever I'm going not to mention it takes me an extra hour flying west as opposed to flying east.  But this isn't about flying...

If I wasn't a runner it wouldn't matter, but I am and it does.  I don't mind winter and summer.  I know it's cold in the winter so I just add layers.  I know it's hot during the summer so I dress down and drink more water.  Easy enough.  But you my friend, you can take a perfectly good day for a run and just flat out ruin it.  We know it's coming, the tell-tale signs are all around.  Leaves blowing, flags flapping, McDonald's wrappers flying all around...there's no denying it.  On a hot day you'll probably find plenty of people saying, "Oh this breeze feels so good." but those people do not run and deserve to be punched in the throat.  Possibly a little extreme but you get the idea.

Today was a prime example and was a perfectly good day for a long tempo run.  At least until I hit 0.1 miles and then you showed up.  A gale force stiff arm to the chest telling me not today.  I know you think it all balances out, that the wind giveth speed and the wind taketh away but it's just not that easy and you have a knack for doing stupid things - like changing direction when I do.  I haven't forgotten the times when I've run a down and back only to run into a headwind both ways.  I don't know if you're on a schedule or if you just hate me as much as I hate you but if you could at least blow in the same direction that would be nice.

So not only do you tack on another 0:20 - 0:30 seconds to my pace while forcing me to exert a lot more energy than I'm ready to but I have to run even faster than fast to get that time back on the way back in.  And I really don't appreciate it.  Nor do I appreciate the fact that nobody can see this invisible gorilla on my back as I lumber down the street at a snails pace.  If it was raining, 20 degrees, or 100 degrees then it would make sense.  Hey, that guy is really grinding out there.  But not with you.  You're an invisible parachute strapped to my back but how about you letting me decide when I want to run with resistance?

Why can't you be like a solar eclipse?  Come a few random times a year so that all of the kite flyers, sail boaters, and surfers can get all excited and enjoy whatever it is you have to offer.  I won't fly that day and you can rest assured I won't be running that day either.

In case you haven't figured it out by now you completely wrecked my run today.  My 8 mile tempo run started out at the same pace as yesterday's long run and not by choice.  Oh but then it gets better.  Coming up the first sizeable hill you decide to really put the hammer down on me.  Leaves were flying at me to the point that I picked up the pace because I just knew I was about to run into some guy with an industrial size leave blower and we were going to fight.  But there was no leave blower, just you being you.

Finally I made the turn and there you were, making amends for a miserable 5 miles.  For a split second I started to take advantage of you graciously pushing me up hill but runners don't take any comfort in running faster with the wind to their back.  It's nice but it doesn't count.  Obviously I continued onward passing runners they struggled to take you head on.  And then you started in on your silly swirling tricks.  As if I don't have enough issues staying out of traffic the last thing I need is a sudden gust of wind blowing me off the curb and into traffic.  It was bad enough that I had already spent 45 minutes plotting my next run around natural barriers to the wind which is sure to be unsuccessful but fighting a constant nudge off the curb was just inexcusable.

And finally that last stretch towards home came with the same gale force headwind now at my back carrying me home.  I could have easily floated home with you but again, that just didn't seem fair and I certainly didn't want to owe a fast finish to you.  So I did what any runner would have done - I stopped at the moment my watch hit 8.0 miles because round miles are always best.  I walked a few 100 meters home hoping that I might be able to experience this whole 'nice breeze' thing or feel the wind blowing in my face and actually find it enjoyable.  But that didn't happen.

All kidding aside, it was a gorgeous day and an awesome weekend to be out running.  Even though I might have slightly exaggerated and/or embellished the whole wind thing one thing is for sure...

...winds gonna blow, runners gonna run.