To Be a Runner

First of all may I direct your attention to my new N1ke+ graph -->
You can scroll through my runs (although yesterday was a walk hence the S L O W pace)

I bought a book yesterday (I love books) called "The Complete Book of Running for Women" by Claire Kowalchik.

I just want to share a bit from the introduction page:

Running is an act of will. It requires mental as well as physical toughness. The more we do it, the stronger we become, the easier running is. Still, no matter how far or how fast I run on a given day, I know I have accomplished something that is difficult. This strength permeates the rest of my life. I feel good about myself and I take that to my job and my relationships. I feel more capable, more independent. I take more risks because I believe that I can accomplish things I once thought impossible.

Running offers us renewal each time we head out the door. It strips us down to our centres. It is sun, sweat, rain, breeze against our skin. It is blood pumping through our arteries, air filling our lungs, and the rhythmic, fluid contracting of muscle as we move our bodies over the earth.

Through it we become whole again.

This morning I was running around Blackwattle Bay and I passed two rather spunky looking young men with runners' calves who were at that moment walking. A few minutes later they caught up to me and invited me to run with them to the end of the park. They were British backpackers out for a morning jog and marvelling at the glorious place I got to run each day.

Needless to say I was almost vomiting by the time I had to stop and wave them goodbye as they raced off into the sunrise, but I enjoyed this unexpected encounter. Maybe my red sweaty face and grimaces of pain are not as ugly as I suspect. Or maybe I connected with some similar souls vibrating with the joy of being part of nature itself ...