I recently started running again after a long layoff. It turns out that even with the break it was just like riding a bike. Before the layoff I was a daily runner for years. I wasn’t running marathons or adventure races. Just a few miles a day at a respectable pace. The health benefits are great but that’s not why I ran. I ran because I needed uninterrupted time to daydream. I can pick ‘em up and put ‘em down without having to use my brain, which leaves my mind free to wander. Add a little music and I’m in Walter Mitty mode. I used that uninterrupted time to process what I was feeling on any particular day. I lived for that thirty minute escape until one day I didn’t. Depression stole running from me. Then Larry ate my running shoes after I lost the will to keep putting them on a shelf out of his reach. My fate was sealed.
A few weeks ago I had a really bad day, which would have normally sent me down a spiral. Instead I surprised myself with the urge to go for a run. I never threw out that pair of running shoes despite Larry having chewed through the heels. I had to employ some duct tape and then went on to bang out three miles in the desert heat. In the time it took me to shag those few miles I realized that my bad day was really a matter of perspective. Given a chance to think I came to the conclusion that my circumstances look much better when I’m not under the influence of my own bullshit. My brain knew I needed that kick in the ass.
I found something I thought I lost and it feels good. I decided to pick up a new pair of running shoes despite my duct tape handiwork. So far I’ve managed to keep them out of Larry’s little mouth. The timing is fortuitous. My wardrobe is desperately in need of an infusion and I love the t-shirts you get when you run a 5k.
