Free

My muscles had to work harder.

  My lungs had to fight for breath.

      And my skin screamed for more layers.

But I did it.

 I stepped out into the 7 degrees and furious snow flurries today. 

  My thoughts circled me as I ran, much like the snowflakes did. 

Want a motivator not to walk in the middle of your run? Step out into this frigid air. You won't want to stop moving. 

  This winter has been brutal on my goal of trying to nail down a better time with my half marathon. And while there are still several weeks to go, the last few weeks have taught me much. Running, much like life, does not always follow the training plan.  And because of that, I am embracing valuable lessons across the board.  

 I once again faced some issues the past 2 weeks which forced me to slow down  in my training. It wasn't even the bitter cold temperatures that kept me from logging miles and speed runs. My health, for a bit, put me back to a place of forced rest. I hate forced rest, and yet it is generally in those moments I am able more adequately evaluate the lessons I am learning. So, I have learned to embrace the time. I was able to spend more time journaling and reading and writing in the last 10 days or so with the extra hour I would typically be out running.

   I even was beginning to enjoy the rest time so much, I hesitated to step back into it today. But who am I kidding? I love running.  I never want to quit.  Today's run was tough to start out for sure because of the temperatures, and my lungs had to fight for breath. And due to the fact that I'd been off for a little over a week, my muscles had to work a bit harder. But I smiled

 Because, although my run was brief, I was free.

   Free to feel the cold on my skin.

     Free to watch the snowflakes fall furiously around me. 

  Free to appreciate the different seasons. 

   Free to dream. 

     Free to think.

     

   Free from anxiety.

    Free from fear.

      Free from expectations. 

      Free from house duties.

   Free from all the many emotions I absorb all around me every day. 

      Free from all the different "hats" I wear. 

 

For 30 minutes, I was free to be me. 

   

 And that, my friends, is why I love running. 

 I may set the goals, which are good, but it's about the journey along the way. That journey ends up teaching me far more than I ever knew about myself from the start of the goal. 

Health might slow me down. 

    Weather might prevent long runs some days.

   But I will never quit. Because when I run, I am free to be me. (And me is good. )