Feeling Good

So I felt like I should probably write tonight so here it goes.

It's been a long week already, mostly because I am working just north of Tucson this week and we have been commuting down each day. Yesterday there was a big accident on the I-10 due to one of our recurring dust storms and they closed the freeway between were I was and home. There aren't a lot of options to get from Tucson to Phoenix so it took my about an extra hour to get home last night.

I had spent the entire day working at the client by myself. I was looking forward to getting home and going for a run. I moved my workouts to the evening hours this week because I have to leave at about six in the morning to get to work by 8am. So I was so looking forward to my run but it seemed I would never get home. As I got closer so did the lightning and I was worried that I would have to cancel my run.

Being part ADHD (as diagnosed by my doctor...Doctor Web MD), part of me was worried that I would have to alter my schedule...heaven forbid I run my short run the next day instead of cross-training. But what really bothered me is that I wanted to run, I needed to run.

I started to read a book called "50/50" by Dean Karnazes who ran 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states. It's an awesome book. But there is a chapter where he talks about running and how running isn't "fun". He says "Running isn't fun. It's too hard to be fun." And then he continues to explain: "I'm not saying that running doesn't feel good. It does feel good, in the way that any form of hard work feels good to those who have a taste for it. Running feels good to me the way writing feels good to a writer and operating feels good to a surgeon."

I loved that chapter, because some days I don't feel like getting started but I always feel better when I am done. Yesterday though, I couldn't wait to get started, I wanted to run.

So as soon as I got home, after 2.5 hours in the car, I changed, threw on my running shoes and headed out...storm approaching and all. I set out for a "short" 3 miler (I love how 3 miles has become a short and easy run for me) and about half way through the rain started and the lightning got closer. With about half a mile left the rain became more persistant and honestly...I loved it. If it wasn't for the lightning, I may have kept going. As soon as I reached the three mile mark just outside my apartment, the rain just let loose.

I then went and sat outside on my balcony and watched the light show and the rain. I felt good, in fact, I felt great. The weather is finally cooling down, and the wear and tear of the week was released from me. It felt good, I felt good.

When people ask what I did over the weekend and I tell them that I ran 11 miles or whatever, they ask me why. People think I am crazy and honestly before I read this book I probably didn't fully understand why I would get up at 3AM on a Sunday and go run so far. I enjoy it but it's true, it's not fun. For me it a time to "relax" and let go of my stress, and when I am done...no matter how much I may ache, I feel good.