A New Place to Run

A couple weekends ago, when I was still trying to figure out how to get back to a place with running where it felt more like I was doing something good and less like I was torturing myself, a new running friend invited me to meet her and run in a place I’d never been before. Always one to take advantage of new running buddies, I agreed to be there.

We weren’t two miles into the run when something in me just felt wonderful. I am usually very cautious to predict a run so early on, but I knew this one was going to be good. Even if I didn’t feel so great, I had new surroundings. And sometimes that’s all you need to get the miles in. It was a welcome distraction to gaze into the Fall trees and forget about pace and breathing. I didn’t have to run fast, I just had to keep going.

We ran early in the morning, and were very alone on this new-to-me trail. It was a mix of cool air and those warm “pockets” early morning athletes often encounter. Just enough to remind you that the rising sun would soon be rendering your gloves useless. The trails were open and clear, which worked out well for me because I couldn’t keep my eyes off of everything else. The way the trees stood out, the way the trail curved through them. It was the most peaceful run I’d been on in months. The air was quiet and still, along with any ache or pain I’d had in the days leading up to the run.

I had time to think. I thought about how I’d like to have more runs like this. I didn’t mind a slower pace. I thought about how maybe, just maybe, if the end of 2007 went well, I could start working on speed again for 2008. I thought about how I’ve spent almost a year in recovery, and how lucky I’ve been to stage any sort of running “come back” at all. It’s only been through hard work, a lot of help and my learning, begrudgingly, to be patient that I’m now able to be out here at all. I’m still uncertain of what lies ahead, and the picture may never be clear, but it’s more than enough motivation for me to keep going.

A new place to run can do all sorts of things for a runner. It can challenge you, it can reassure you, and it can put you at ease. It can have such an affect on you that you drag your sister back later that day to run while you obsessively take photos of this new-to-you, magical place. But mostly, this new place to run, even though it’s been around for decades, can come into your life at just the right time to remind you that no matter how you do it, no matter how you find it, getting out there is the only goal. Everything after that is just for fun.