Running up and close in Russia

Whoa, that was one amazing run. This morning I woke up at a hotel in Moscow around 5:15, met my team in the lobby at 6, and then we took off driving for about 2 hours east of Moscow. After a short warm-up, I started my 10mile run a little before 9am. Very soon, I fell in love with this run. The conditions were challenging, but since I was feeling good, I challenged them back. It was on. I was running on a busy highway, two lanes of traffic both directions. Running facing the traffic, sometimes there was a shoulder, sometimes there was not. I would run on the very edge, often on the dirt, or occasionally on a path that would appear by the road. It finally felt like I was in Russia. It was great. At least half of the vehicles were big heavy trucks, most of them with the name “Kamaz.” I made it a game to spot as many Kazens as I could. The noise they made was the one I always imagined it would be like at a busy highway in Russia. At one point, I ran by a house in front of which was a loose dog. It made an effort to bark at me and to kind of run towards me, but it was too lazy to do anything else. In a weird way, I was a little disappointed. I was ready for the challenge. I was ready to either sprint away, yell at it, or in the worst case to use the baton to defend myself. It would be kind of ironic… I can see the headlines: “Baton meant to spread water-crisis message used as a weapon for self-defense.” Fortunately, none of these techniques was needed, since the dog just casually barked and then just kind of stared at me with a look that was saying something like this: “Ah, this crazy runner, why is he bothering me in my home? Running around the world, huh? Doesn’t he have a bone to play with?”

After the dog encounter, it started to rain. I was about half an hour into the run, and I actually welcomed the rain. I was getting my runner’s high, and the rain enhanced it even more. You know, the tougher the conditions you’re fighting are, the tougher you feel and more chemicals get released into your brain, making you feel even better. So here I am, 6miles into my run, fighting the heavy traffic with its noise and fumes, negotiating the muddy side of the road, rain dripping down my face and making my clothes heavy and stick to my body, and having a great time. Then I pass through this small town, watching people sell blueberries on the side of the road, women walk to the grocery stores, locals waiting at the bus stop… What a sight. I felt like we’re finally doing it. We’re running around the world. Yes, Western and Central Europe were great, but it was not all that much different from the U.S. Today’s run was a nice awakening. I could not have this run anywhere in the States. A little over an hour into it, my runner’s high started to wear off, and my tiredness, sleep deprivation, and slight dehydration started to settle in. The last 2 miles were a little tough, but hey, this is not a supposed to be a rose-garden walk. We’re not running to sightsee, but to help address the water crisis, because water is life, and life is good in Russia.