What is this running all about?

A week of high intensity training this week after last weekend's dress rehersal for the Chattooga 50k. Did a few days of long, tempo-paced running and today I am reaping the benefits of the hard work by sitting down and laying down.

The dogs got out for a bit and we had a nice walk in the the spring rain, beautiful. It is dark out now and drizzly, maybe we'll go and meander in the yard. The point of this entry though-

... just the little bit of jogging with the dogs revealed a level of fitness that I am so grateful for. There have been times when I never thought I would reach this point again as a runner (as a person) and now, with experience as it is, I enjoy this running so much more, take each step and breathe it in for the amazing thing that it is.

Though I strive to run better, that doesn't not necessarily mean faster... just better. This means never running in a hurry, always running relaxed and simply allowing my body to do its thing... to let the mind settle into what it wants as well. When these two things connect, the body and the mind... and they do so in a relaxed state then great things will happen... you will feel these things deeply and know that this is what you are meant to do.

All of the miniscule moments tic away adding up to this tiny moment. But this moment is markedly different. There is no anxiety, there is no worry, there is nothing else but to maintain that momentum. The soaring feeling in your soul that effortlessly allows you to float on by your surroundings while being fully emmersed in them. These are the types of moments that I run for.

I learn from many other moments for sure, all important when payed their due attention. Still, these kinds of moments are the ones we search for each day we enter into our running ritual. We enter the domain of the run, our domain of vulnerability, adversity and victory, we wait for this state to meet us somewhere in our miles and we know that life is sweet.