Running Again

OK, I've got my running stuff and am getting ready to look like Rocky when he drinks the eggs and goes for his first run on the streets of Philadelphia. I'll be humming the theme as I stumble along. This is a perfect place to get back into it.

Forever I've been an every day runner. Five miles a day for the most part. Every day! Radio or I-pod in my ears, bandana around my head, running shorts and shoes, gum in my mouth and I'm off.

I run alone because I normally slide into this zone where it is music, contemplation and sweat. There are these times when I'm so lost in thought that I've gone a mile and didn't even realize it. All kinds of thoughts, feelings, memories, ideas and stories are born during my runs. It is holy and prayer like.

Most days I have the luxury of running along the beach but I've run streets of the nation's cities, along country road, through forest, up mountains, and through cow pastures. In Jamacia I ran into the slums of Montego Bay and in St. Lucia I dodged cows along a very narrow road almost falling down the embankment into the ocean. I've always ran.

Forever, it has merely been part of who I am.

Then over the summer, I started skipping days. Then I skipped a week. And then I was not running anymore. Goddess got long walks and I spent more time on my bicycle which are enjoyable but they're not the same.

I think it was something psychological. I'd already broken from the past ... what did, what my family was, how I spent my days and who I spent them with had all changed. Perhaps I was still going through changes and the time of running had passed in my life. The way I thought about things certainly changed.

Then I noticed things. My body started to change a little bit. I didn't put on weight (I actually lost some) but I moved with more stiffness. I lost my breath quicker when I was doing things. I started feeling ... old.

So I started getting onto myself. My best friend started coaching me to start again. So ...

Today's the day!

It's been a while so I'd appreciate it all if you all hum the theme from "Rocky" for a few seconds for me. It'll make you feel good. It may not help me at all, but it couldn't hurt.

Gonna fly now!

Da-Da-Da ... da-da-da