Why I Run...

Imagine this...

 As the sun beats down upon your skin, it's warm rays pierce through the layers and cause a sheen of perspiration to rise to the surface. You look both ways, then cross the street.  The next song in your earbuds boasts a beat so spectacular you immediately pick up the pace.  Pumping your legs, your arms, your lungs-left, then right, left, then right. You push as your mind races. Pounding the pavement with your feet, you burst forward with speed and agility.  The days stresses, concerns, and frustrations bubble so close to the surface you, for an instant, fear they may burst out.  You take a quick, sharp breath and push them back down, forcing them to submit and reduce to a mere thought. As if in conjunction, your feet push harder and you propel forward, faster.  Every muscle in your legs burn and scream out at you with vengeance, "IT HURTS SO BAD!"  You push further more, your heart beating so hard and so fast it may escape your chest at any moment.  Still, you push. The burning in your lungs, your arms, your head; it carries you. You no longer feel the breeze, the sweat, the terrain changes. Your music is reduced to nothing, but white noise. All you feel is emotion-so full, so overpowering. Yet again, you push. 

Then suddenly, it's as if you've opened your eyes for the first time.  You see the world around you.  The grass, the pavement, the trees. This is when you slow, allow yourself to catch your breath. Your body nearly collapses with fatigue, but you fight just to lift your feet enough to move forward. Almost simultaneously, you turn and push-going back the way you came to do it all over again. 

I'm not perfect, in fact I'm far from it, but I understand my limits. And I always push them further.  When life gets too stressing, too difficult, too frustrating, or just too hard, I run.  In many ways it clears my mind, reduces my stress and helps me work through difficult problems. I even sleep better when I've ran that day. 

Running is MY therapy. 

It's amazing the level of "calm" you can achieve with a hard run.  "They" say pushing your limits and running is mostly mental.  I believe "them." However, when I've had a trying day, running becomes all mental.  I'm not a big fan of running long distances, but with 30-60min I can usually run hard and fast enough to work out whatever problem is eating at me.  

When I get home, I'm exhausted, physically.  Emotionally, I'm rested.  I may not have solved the problem, but I'm able to view it from more angles and tackle it with a mind more clear than before.  

So while running is not my favorite exercise, it's my favorite therapy.  It's my time to check out from reality and take my problems from bad to better.