I’ve run 67.72 miles this month, mostly in the wee hours of the morning, which allows for some introspection and random observations.

Apparently shoveling snow is not a priority of 85% of Cleveland residents, which is fine, but don’t get pissed and honk at me when I’m running on the side of the road because I don’t want to break my ankle on the stretch of ice in front of your house.

I feel sad, sick, and frightened when my house is the only one on the street with recycling on the curb. How hard is it to separate the trash…really?

People around here throw out things that really surprise me. I ran past a $65 exersaucer on Thursday morning that was in perfect condition. If I didn’t already have one in my basement, I would have picked it up…hopefully someone else did before it was taken to it’s 400 year resting place at the landfill.

Some people don’t want you to talk to them. I guess if I were standing outside in pajamas in 20 degree weather, waiting for my dog to poop, I wouldn’t want to say “good morning” either.

You can wake up with a blood sugar of 220, run 11 miles with your basal rate at 50% (and eat 2 Clif blocks at mile 5), and end up at a harrowing 39 (with no symptoms of being that low). Thank goodness my running partners don’t hold my moodiness against me, and keep a supply of soy milk in their fridge to bring me back to life.

You can never have too much information. At any given point during a run, I can find out the distance I’ve covered, my pace, my time, the time of day, how many calories I’ve burned, my blood sugar reading, and even make a call home to check in on the kids. The only danger is falling on my face while I fumble with the many gadgets attached to my body.

There’s nothing better than “playing in the snow” to start the day. I just have to keep reminding myself that’s what I’m doing, rather than running through what feels like quicksand…freezing quicksand.