Thursday, July 05, 2007

seizing the moment

This morning I went out for what I intended to be a short run. Perhaps about thirty minutes. I planned to do a longer run tomorrow morning so today I merely intended to stretch my legs and get the blood flowing. But once I was out on the riverside trail my plans changed.

I started a checklist in my head of reasons why I couldn’t do a longer run today. But quickly I realized that I did not have a valid excuse. My legs were feeling great with no pain. My nano was well charged. The sky was clear and sunny but a cool wind kept the air brisk. I was perfectly dressed for the weather. Water fountains are plentiful along the path so it didn’t matter that I hadn’t brought my water bottle. Normally longer runs are reserved for weekends when I am afforded extra leisure time. But since I am on vacation at the moment not even time constraints could be used as an excuse.

Then I started to think of all the reasons why I should do the run. The unexpected has a way of altering our paths and moving us away from our intended destination. It was impossible to know what might occur in the next twenty four hours that would prohibit me from completing a longer run tomorrow. So instead of turning around at my expected point I just kept running and enjoying my spontaneous decision.

It feels like so often lately I have been forced to run less than I had intended. Today I ran far more and it felt fabulous.