Something Found

You hear about the infamous "runner's high" when you are first running, you read up and find where people experience it but if you are like me, it is as impossible to find as the rare Western Jackalope. No matter how you search for it, you just have never seen one. You have to wonder if it really exists.

This evening, I had a 4 mile run up. I had unexpectedly spent the day in Nashville, complete with an unhappy 1 year old making that known at the top of his lungs for 30+ miles before conking out. When one of the kids gets in a mood, the others seem to feed off it and so by the time they were in bed, I was ready to reach for Calgon rather than my running stuff.

I found a set of blinking lights tonight so I clipped one to my ponytail. I had a nice green blinking light on my head, blinking yellow lights on my arms, reflective stuff on my shoes and a reflective belt. I do run in a well lit neighborhood but you can never be too careful. It was about 65F out, crisp but not too warm or cold. I did learn though and wore...no sleeves. I strapped on the Garmin and headed out the door, intending to go do my 4 miles and be done with it.

I slogged through the first 2 miles...nothing to write home about. I was running, I was out there, I was logging my miles.

At one point in my run, I come around the back of the elementary school where there is a big field next to an EMT station. Usually there are deer there but there were none there tonight. I am not sure what happened but that is when it happened. The run started to become magic.

I was not running faster, I was not doing anything different but something changed. I wasn't just running anymore, I wasn't just logging miles...I was running!

I was nearing the point in my route where I slow down because it is just past the half way mark, it is uphill and I am tired. Tonight, I just seemed to glide up the hill. I know by looking at my time, I really didn't glide though ;)

As I was coming down to my final mile, things were just so perfect tonight. It was a beautiful evening, the air was crisp, fresh and just a hint of coolness. The street was bathed in a gentle light from street lights and the stars were putting on a show, just for me, in the clear sky. The frogs and crickets were chirping and occasionally you could hear a baby cry or a dog bark. I could hear my breathing and my shoes hitting the pavement and that is when it hit me.

*This* was the infamous runners high! This is why people go out and run. The perfect feeling of being one with everything around you and just running. I wasn't running for miles, I wasn't running for time...I was running because that is what I wanted to do right then.

I could see a bobbing reflective stripe coming closer to me in the dim light. Another night runner came whizzing by me. A kindred soul, we shared a head nod, an uplifted hand, an almost breathless "Hey" and a look that said "I know why you are out here, that is why I am too." In a split second, he was gone and I was gone but for that split second, I knew him for what we both were right then: runners

The final quarter mile of my run, as I turned a corner, I could see my mailbox...my finish line. I lengthened my stride because I could! I had it in me to finish strong. No one is out there to see me do this, no one cares if I do but because I am able to do this, I do. I lengthened my stride and picked up speed for the final two elevation changes. I crested the last one and sped up for the sprint to the mailbox. Whee! I am done.

When I checked my time, I was not surprised to find it was not a signficant time (49:56). It was not a fast time, it was not a slow time...it was just a time. Tonight, my miles, my splits, my time...none of it mattered, I found my runner's high.

Isn't it great when things turn up in unexpected ways? I wish I had the words to really describe how this run was but it will have to do for me to say it was just an incredible run. It was the kind of run you wish you could bottle up and share with others so you could say "See? THIS is why I run!"