I'll Pass on the Cookies: Umstead 7 Miler 12/18

I had a nice workout Saturday: 3 miles on the treadmill, 20mins. of jump rope, and some abs.  Yesterday, I went for a run in Umstead and didn't realize that there would be cookies.  Yes, that's right you heard me correctly -- cookies!  Apparently, Raleigh Trail Runners was having a holiday cookie run in Umstead just as I was having my 7 miler.  There were people passing out cookies at different points along the trial, and I felt like a bit of a Grinch for passing up on the free cookies, but I was on the return leg of my run where I first encountered people gleefully offering up their tasty treats and was kind of struggling with my run a bit.  The idea of stopping for some festive holiday cheer was appealing, but I was more than a bit afraid that if I stopped I wouldn't get started again. 

Stopping on runs is just not something that I do well. I don't stop when I gel and have been known to hang a right rather than stopping at an intersection for a red light.  It would have been asking a lot (even for the most festive of holiday reveler) for me to request that they jog along and hand off the cookies so that I didn't have to break my stride, so I politely passed on the cookies.  Actually, I was having a difficult run because Old Bob was acting all screwy and telling me that I was running at about the same pace as a adolescent cheetah and had tell-a-ported a third of a mile off course, which was impossible for soooo many reasons.  Also, Along with fighting through some weird calf and foot soreness as I passed the cookie folks, I was a bit afraid that if I did eat some cookies that I wouldn't make it too far before I . . . oh . . . . how should I say this . . . before I lost them. 

Despite declining the cookies, I was happy to have been offered the holiday treat and found it to be another on an ever growing reason to love the Raleigh Running Community.