Inspired by a Runner

I am hacking away at my running rehab.   Every step makes me feel a little bit more like myself and makes me want to go a little bit further.  I love that I can look outside again and note how ideal the weather is for a run, without having a little pang of sadness immediately following the observation (side note: I am seeing the world through rose-colored running glasses lately.  ALL weather looks like perfect running weather to me.  A good attitude to have in rainy Dublin).  I have been "back" for two days, running happily and without consequence, but yesterday morning I woke up with a pain in my leg.

I was terrified. I walked around on it for a bit, and after a bit of worrying and self diagnosing via Google, I decided to go stretch it out at the gym and see how I felt.

I walked there with light shooting pains and got to work once I arrived.  After doing some weights, stretching, rolling, and a bit of swimming, my leg felt much better.  Panic over; it had just been a little bit stiff.  The same way it was after my first returned run, just a little bit worse.  Nothing a little bit of care and stretching can't fix.  Feeling fresh, I decided to head out for a small run.

I stepped out the door telling myself to run one mile.  I had already run six since my reintroduction to running and I didn't want to push it.  I walked to the park, to my grass-floored safe haven, and decided maybe I could run two.  It was so nice out.  I set my stuff down in the field that I was running on and told myself that maybe I could squeeze out three.  I wanted to get back to my normal mileage as soon as possible, after all.

So away I went, putting one foot in front of another for my little warm-up jog.  There was another runner doing circles around the field that I was cutting back and forth across.  He was fast.  His shorts revealed strong, practiced legs, and his brightly-colored shoes carried his body expertly and smoothly across the grass.  His posture was perfect and, essentially, he flew.

Immediately, I wanted to run like him.  I wanted to stop my silly jog and let myself go.  I wanted to find that pace that made me feel like a swiftly working machine and hold onto it, floating above the ground, feeling unstoppable with a speeding heart and a stable mind.

And then, before I had a chance to realize it, that fellow runner's beautiful form and speed inspired me... to stop running.

I finished my run after one very slow and meticulous mile.  I paid very careful attention to my form and made sure that my injured leg was behaving normally.  I did not rush and I did not push harder than I was sure my tender hip could handle.  I finished feeling strong, not beat, and happy with what I had accomplished in that run.

This run, this entire period of my running life, is not about finding my speed or running like a pro.  It is about slowing down and concentrating on what I am doing, easing my body back into doing what I love so that I can be stronger in the future.  I am building from the ground up so I can someday float at the peak of my potential more permanently, instead of crashing down with injury after one 'good' run or one 'good' race.

If I want to fly across the ground tomorrow, I have to be careful with what I am doing today.

Thank you, faster runner, for reminding me what I am working towards.