Running and kvas

Today was a long run day. It was also the Cleveland half marathon (go Nick!), so I had extra motivation for my training. It was also a glorious day, which made me immediately want to get out there once I got up. On good days, I head north to a constellation of three parks/islands with a lot of great paths and trails. Unfortunately, I didn't think about how hot it might be and how unhyrdated I was.

About five or six miles in, I really started hurting. I didn't think the sun could be so hot here. My mouth turned to paste.

These parks are swamped on the weekend with locals relaxing, riding small amusements, rollerblading, being carefree. I started to hate the new Russian consumerism when I couldn't find a single water fountain a n y w h e r e.

Sometimes when I run, I get extremely hungry for any fatty food I catch on a breeze - burgers, fries, onion rings... Today, panting and starchy, all I could think about was the 2 liter bottle of Kvas I had waiting for me in the fridge at home (still 5 miles away). Kvas, for those who don't know, is one of Russia's gifts to the world of food. It is a very low/no alcohol drink, made from grain, which tastes sort of like a hearty but sweet dark beer. It's like delicious liquid brown bread which quenches your thirst and fills you up. This is what I needed.

I started fantasizing that I would see one of those old Soviet drink machines, the kind where there's a communal cup and you probably pay a kopeck, like the one here:

All those giddy people in the parks with their balloons and Pepsi Max. I bet in Soviet days runners didn't have this problem, I bet the communists respected a good amateur athlete.

Coming down Petrogradskaya, hitting the final stretch, what do I notice? About ten different people carrying the same brand of kvas. At first I thought I was hallucinating, my mind taunting me and projecting my innermost desires. But then I had a revelation, the kind of inspired insight certain agnostics must get when they see the Virgin Mary in a grilled cheese. These kvas bottles must mean something - it can't be just a coincidence! Sure enough, at metro station Gorkovskaya, two young, blonde haired angels were handing out free bottles of the glorious elixir as part of a promotional event. Even the branding was apt - "Russian Gift."

Maybe capitalism works after all.