Running through the woods...
I had a great time running yesterday evening. I'm still on a high from running this past weekend at Jemez and, yesterday, I was itching to get out on the trail. I was full of energy and, in my mind, it was as if I was getting to go play by running through the woods on some of my favorite trails. This particular run is something I have been doing practically every Wednesday for about two years. It is a rarity if I'm not running on a trail in Austin on a Wednesday evening, rain or shine, cold or hot. Summer is in full swing and it was 96 degrees with a lot of humidity in the air when I began the run with my friends.
I ran down the first hill with Brian and Noelle. We crossed Barton Creek together and continued down a well worn dirt path to the first trail intersection where I would part ways and run alone for most of the remainder of the run. I didn't have a planned intensity for the run. I was just going to go out and let my body do what it wanted to do. If it wanted to run up all the 
hills, sprint on the flats, walk, stop to check out what a particular noise in the bushes was all about, or just stare at the blue sky above--all I wanted to do was be out there experiencing it firsthand. I ran hard and with no effort up the first hill. The Jemez Mountains had put my home trails in their correct topographical place. The challenge would soon turn to getting used to the heat and humidity--something all of us in Austin have to go through every year. But, I didn't mind the heat. I just smiled and kept running. My whole life could have been in pieces during the run and I wouldn't have cared. All I knew was that I felt great, even if my legs were a little tired from the past weekend. I stopped and took 
pictures when I felt like it and then continued on my jaunt through the woods. Nothing else mattered except, I realized how much fun it was just to be on the trail running. Running with no specific plan was liberating, especially since I always know what I'm going to do when I hit the trail. The hardest part of the run was setting up my camera to take timed self-shots. I ended the day by running up the hill that I had run down at the beginning of the run. My iPod had died before the hill and I wasn't sure if I would have the mettle to coax myself to run and, instead, choose to powerwalk. I ran and smiled all the way to the top and I can't wait to do it again.
I ran down the first hill with Brian and Noelle. We crossed Barton Creek together and continued down a well worn dirt path to the first trail intersection where I would part ways and run alone for most of the remainder of the run. I didn't have a planned intensity for the run. I was just going to go out and let my body do what it wanted to do. If it wanted to run up all the 
hills, sprint on the flats, walk, stop to check out what a particular noise in the bushes was all about, or just stare at the blue sky above--all I wanted to do was be out there experiencing it firsthand. I ran hard and with no effort up the first hill. The Jemez Mountains had put my home trails in their correct topographical place. The challenge would soon turn to getting used to the heat and humidity--something all of us in Austin have to go through every year. But, I didn't mind the heat. I just smiled and kept running. My whole life could have been in pieces during the run and I wouldn't have cared. All I knew was that I felt great, even if my legs were a little tired from the past weekend. I stopped and took 
pictures when I felt like it and then continued on my jaunt through the woods. Nothing else mattered except, I realized how much fun it was just to be on the trail running. Running with no specific plan was liberating, especially since I always know what I'm going to do when I hit the trail. The hardest part of the run was setting up my camera to take timed self-shots. I ended the day by running up the hill that I had run down at the beginning of the run. My iPod had died before the hill and I wasn't sure if I would have the mettle to coax myself to run and, instead, choose to powerwalk. I ran and smiled all the way to the top and I can't wait to do it again.
2 comments:
Just keep that smile for another week:) Eww, 97F! How in the wolrd do you make a single step, yet run uphill?
You know, it is surprisingly green out there as well. And looks like hills do exist in TX:)
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