I Ran Today (11)

I ran today and it was the best run I’ve had in years, because everything else in my life lately has sucked so much. It’s Thanksgiving weekend and the thing I’m most thankful for is making running a part of my life again because holy shit do I need it. It is keeping me sane in a time when things are very close to their worst.

On Tuesday night my car window broke and wouldn’t roll up or down any more. I left the window down over night in my apartment complex parking lot, and could barely sleep because I was constantly worried about it. I managed to get it rolled up the next day using a trick I found on YouTube. It was still broken but at least it was up. My plan was to take it to the shop to get the window fixed after I made enough delivery money to pay rent (Anyone new to this series of posts, I’m a gig delivery driver).

That plan was quickly killed when my check engine light came on and my engine thermostat stopped giving me a reading. Instead of taking my car to the shop for the broken power window, I had to take it in for a check engine light. I thought I’d be dealing with a $400 thermostat replacement, but the shop informed me the thermostat went out because the water pump broke and leaked coolant on it. To make a long story short, I was looking at $1000+ instead of the $400 I was already upset about having to deal with.

I knew all of this by 11:00 AM this morning and I instantly hated everything and everyone. I cussed out the guy at the repair shop on the phone to the point I had to apologize to him later. I yelled “Fuck. Fuck, Fuck, Motherfucker. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” so loud I’m sure all of my neighbors heard me and I my dog was terrified of me. I checked the balance on my emergency credit card and counted out all of my emergency cash and still realized it was going to be a close call making rent this month, even with 5 more potential days of work ahead.

I called the shop and authorized the work and immediately put on my running shorts. I was so wound up I didn’t even put on the the compression sleeve I bought for my knew. I just went out the door for the 25-minute run in my training plan. It turned into a lot more than 25 minutes.

I just couldn’t stop. I ran all the way down to the park about a mile south of my apartment. Then I turned down a dirt path that goes by a field and and some…