A dull hum is in the air from the nearby highway. The rest of the sound track is provided by Mother Nature – wind blowing through the trees, a patterned bird call, the faint rustle of leaves underfoot of a squirrel. With a deep breath, I begin to reach down to my colorful Brooks. With an exhale, my head falls, my tension falls, my legs appreciate the stretch. And behind me, upside down, I see the squirrel running across the trail through sun rays that twinkle down through the leaves. It’s a peaceful way to wrap up a long run with a different perspective.
Lately, I’ve been frustrated and near angry. My injury has me running slowly, with less frequency and it’s more laborious than before. While trying to do the right thing and take it easy, I’m impatient by nature. I feel weak. I feel like I’m losing ground when I should be progressing. But I know it must be done. Continuing to aggravate an injury is a sure way to have a major setback. My head understands, my determined spirit does not.
Enter the long run, where I’m supposed to run slowly, where just getting through the distance is an accomplishment. There’s so much time to think that eventually, I come back to an empty mind - To a place where nature and its subtleties can be appreciated. It reminds me of why I love to goRun.
As I view the world from a point where trees appear to push down into the sky, the data from my run disappears. I don’t feel frustrated anymore. What I feel is air, inhaled and exhaled. I feel the blood surging through my veins. I feel my muscles, they feel powerful. I appreciate that I can run. I appreciate that I can stand, that I have a place to enjoy the earth, that I have changed my life by changing my health and have more changes ahead.
Get out and goAppreciate your life in whatever way speaks to you.
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