Red Running Gloves

Here in Denver, it’s two hours later than it is back home. This morning, my alarm went off at 6:45 AM, my body clock still set to 8:45 AM, but nevertheless, I still didn’t want to get out of bed. I laid there for 20 minutes, snuggling into the frothy comforter and the perfectly squishy pillows (four of them! All for me!), thinking I love hotel rooms. I can sleep diagonal across the bed, I can pad around barefoot and naked, I can sleep with the curtains open, so that when I wake up in the middle of the night, I can look out the window and see the city lights. 

What ultimately got me out of bed was the thought of my red running gloves, which I’d bought at the expo on October 30th and have yet to wear. I pined for these gloves for over a year, my official NYC Marathon swag, and was going to wear them on my run today. The 35 degree temps warranted the RRG’s. 

In 15 minutes I was out the door of the hotel and trotting up 17th Avenue, east away from the mountains. I was anticipating the altitude and its slowing effect, but found it to be not nearly as oppressive as it’s felt in the past. No piano this time. Maybe it was the RRG’s? 

Since I am a stranger in a strange land, I opted for the simple out and back. The route added up to 3.46 miles, which took me 32:23–I can only attribute this 9:21 sea-level pace to the red running gloves. Hey, if they’re powerful enough to drag me out of a peaceful hotel slumber, surely they can also mitigate the altitude drag on my speed.