Saturday, August 31

Today, along with Cokie and Donna, I ran/walked 16 miles as I am training for the St. George Marathon in October.  It was a beautiful morning, quickly warming up as we trudged along and I do mean trudged.  As we are getting older with accumulated injuries and tired from all the goings on in our lives, we are moving slower.  We keep getting passed by people who look like they are hardly running and that’s a bit daunting but I pretty much know this is may last marathon unless something incredible happens and I’m able to run Boston.  I love running though and here’s what I love about it.  I love that the more I push my body to go more miles, it adjusts and then feels stronger, like it is moving up the rungs of  a ladder.  I love that I get to be with my friends and talk talk and talk.  I love what running does to my legs and mind.  I love that pounding the pavement helps me understand what is happening in my life and what I think about it.  I love that it requires me to face the challenges that come my way just like I face running another step when I really want to quit.  I don’t always love running when I’m running, I sometimes hate running when I’m running and I’m always grateful that running has a lower gear called walking because I always know that I can step it down a bit and walk.  But it never ceases to move me when I think how lucky I am that I feel good enough to run, that I am able to get up and head out in the early morning with my friends.