I have never loved running as much as I do at this point in my life.  I have been a runner for a few years now but I feel like I’m finally at the point that I can take myself seriously doing it.  My legs are finally really strong (thanks mostly to BodyPump…woot woot!!!) and I’m having less injuries.   I’m also finally at a weight that I’m okay with and I feel “lighter” on my feet I guess you could say.  But most of all, it’s where I run and the scenery I take in on those runs that makes it so meaningful to me.  You see things on foot that you don’t see from a car…you notice things and you take in the sounds and smells of it all…

I love that it’s that time of year that I have to dodge toddlers being pulled in red wagons on the sidewalk (happened twice today)!  I see lemonade stands, fathers and sons playing catch, mothers pushing strollers, sidewalk chalk masterpieces… I’ve learned people’s dogs and kids…I know that the blond headed boy down the street wants a Jack Russell and his parents are big Texas fans…he also does alot of sidewalk chalking!  I pick up the newspaper on almost every run and put it atop a set of steep front steps where an elderly woman lives.  She once asked me for help when I was jogging past …and she said Emmett looked “handsome and regal!!!”  I like the thought of her opening her door and her newspaper being there waiting for her….without having to struggle with those stairs and bending over.  She probably doesn’t remember me (it was over a year ago that she stopped me for help) and it doesn’t matter.  It makes me feel good.  I love watching things change…additions and improvements to my favorite houses, pink and blue bows put up on front doors 🙂  I guess this is alot less about running specifically but these are things I wouldn’t know if I wasn’t constantly out running past these people and places and things.  Experiencing my surroundings in this way helps me feel more connected to it…more rooted there.  I feel like I belong there.

Running makes me feel strong…something about saying “I ran 6 (or 7 or 8) miles today” makes me feel accomplished and proud.  But running also makes me feel more connected to nature.  I guess it’s like I said before…when you are on foot and out of the car, you become more a part of everything around you.  It feels more primitive..like going back to a place where all we had to get around were our two legs.  Perhaps this is just the endorphins talking!  I don’t know.  But anyway…I feel people have become too cut off from those around them…with our schedules and jobs and nightly lineup of tv shows.  But getting out and walking or jogging keeps you engaged with those around you.  Trust me…I know the “isolators” in my neighborhood.  I’ve lived here 2 years and I can count on one hand how many times I’ve seen them.  They can’t be happy people …

I also laugh at myself because I probably look like some sort of tech-geek-in-laces” — ridiculously large 5th gen iPod on upper right arm, BodyBugg on upper left, BodyBugg display and left wrist, Road ID wristband on right wrist….and house key tied to my right shoe laces.  But at least I don’t wear one of those stupid running belts with the water bottles and other attachments.  It’s like the athletic, nerdy cousin to the fanny pack.  If I need water I stop at V. Richard’s and hit the water fountain.

I also love when I go on vacation and I get to take in some foreign city on foot…discover neat buildings and out of the way places….    But to me, there is nothing worse than running on a track or around a park, over and over, or in some neighborhood where all the houses are identical.  To me, that’s no better than the treadmill.  Give me a destination, give me a city and sidewalks and life that’s constantly on the move.  Ah…I love it!

So I guess my point is that running is great.  And I have some nerdy spiritual connection to it.  I just thought I’d share.   🙂