Running is sort of a meditative thing for me. It keeps me sane when things are crazy in my life. But I’ve been on the injured list since my last marathon. I don’t really know what the issue is exactly. Most recently I’ve determined that the pain starts at my hamstring and shoots down into my knee socket. So I’ve not been running for the past few weeks. I haven’t been doing any sort of exercise at all. That is except exercising my right to put food in my mouth. I’ve been craving sweets and they are plentiful this time of year.
Today is the second day that I have been totally pain free. I’m planning to go running tomorrow morning. I won’t do anything too long, and not too fast. I just want to be outside, rain or shine, putting one foot in front of the other and feeling the wind blow in my face.
There are few things that I love about running. I love the sound of the dirt crunching under my feet. That sound takes me back to running on the track during high school. “No pain, no gain”, my coach used to say. I can still hear his voice sometimes when I hear that sound. He was such a big part of my life. He taught me to work hard and persevere. Another thing that I love about running is the swooshing of my ponytail. It sounds like a crazy thing, but there it is. Sometimes I can’t actually feel it moving when I am running. Sometimes I just see it moving in my shadow. It moves differently, when I am moving slowly, than when I am running at my race pace. Finally, I love when my run is over and I feel relaxed and calm. Sometimes I am energized, knowing that I ran my desired pace or distance. Other times I am tired and sore. Being tired and sore can make me feel good too. It’s a constant reminder that I pushed hard. Then I reward my body with a good meal.
I’m going running tomorrow. It won’t be far. But I’m more than ready.