First Run

Last night I ran my first run in Texas. When I asked my husband (who had been here previously to scout out housing) what it was like, he said, “It’s flat and brown.”

Man does he have a way with words, or what?!

I was running on base around sunset and found a track, right by the golf course. From the lodge where we are staying, it was exactly 1 mile to the track. When I started running I saw all kinds of critters, herons, gulls, and what can only be described as a herd of these guys:

They were running and jumping all along the fairway. And the birds where fighting these guys (prairie dogs) for a bite to eat:

The fiery orange sun was just setting between the palm trees in the distance and there weren’t many other runners using the track. A mile and half in, I looked up and saw another runner and did my usual nod and wave, to which he looked at me, looked away and didn’t acknowledge at all. Seriously?! Where’s the southern hospitality? The unity of runners? Holy balls we are out here together, covered in a suffocating blanket of humidity and sweat, and you can’t manage a nod of the head?! Nice. Stay Classy NAS Corpus. We were running opposite directions so every lap, we would meet again for an awkward stride where no one said anything. I wanted to laugh out loud. Or pull a Jerry Maguire flip out:

Or dance around spontaneously:

After 3 laps, he was gone anyway. Bummer he missed out on my moves…cause I would’ve busted them out by the 4th lap! Then there came another runner who made me look like I was standing still. His legs came up to my shoulder. One stride of his was like 5 of mine. At least he did the courtesy smile/nod/wave. It was probably a pity wave; “Oh, look at that girl trying to run! Bless her heart!” (If you aren’t familiar with the phrase “bless your heart”, it’s a southern way of being slightly condescending or it can be an outright put down.)

As you can see by my crazy description, I see Texas as more than just “flat and brown”. That’s the beauty of running. You can take the time to notice the world around you, and see the things you wouldn’t see while driving. There is such beauty here, and I get why people love it so much.

As a runner, do you wave and nod? Ever held your hand up and got a high five? I’m dying for one of those! If you see me running – please high-five me! If you hold up your hand, I promise not to leave you hanging!