Running.

I have begun my training for the Denver Marathon. Knee-pending I plan on running 26.2 miles on October 17, 2010. For the past year and a half of my life I have been an occasional runner. I've been waiting for the right time and event for me to train for, and this is it. This is the time. It is coming back to me, why I love to run. Running is a time of solitude for me. A time of quiet. A time of prayer. A time to give action to plaguing and heavy emotions. A time to push my body. A time to push my mind. I love to run, but I also hate to run. It hurts and it's hard to get out there sometimes. It's easier to sit at home and relax and I'm sure I could come up with good reasons to skip a run every time if I needed to, someone to call, washing my dishes, paying bills. The thing is, they'll all still be there when I get back. I step out my door, the chilly winter Denver air hits me at first, but I know as I run, my body will get warmer and warmer. I stretch a little, anxious to begin. I force myself to walk, to warm up my muscles. Then there's that first step, it's easy at first. There's a little adrenaline rush, and then the wall hits. I get tired, right away in the first 5 minutes. I push past it and I'm in my groove. I could run for miles. Past dogs, houses, couples, children... past parks, cars, up and down hills, turning and heading for home... and as I slow down to walk it out, stretching to end my run... I feel those wonderful endorphins. It's at that moment, if my body lets me, I know I can run 26.2 miles, I feel like I can do anything. It's this wonderful confidence and peace that as been dubbed "the runners high". I'm back into my routine, scheduling it into my life and integrating it into my schedule. And the more I talk about it, the more I do it, the more I want to do. I am crazy. I am a runner.