Running Frustrated

You have many emotions when you run and sometimes you start a run already in a certain mindset. One of the main emotions I have experienced lately when running is frustration. Sometimes life can be hard and those situations don't disappear when you start to run...they do minimize as you continue in your run...but they exist regardless.

One things I have realized is that frustration makes you run faster. (Which makes me think I should make sure I am frustrated before every race!) When you start your run you go out with the idea that you are going to relieve stress, so you naturally start slow and ease into your run. You want to enjoy the scenery and take in the air that are ever so cleansing. Then you realize that you are moving faster and faster and your adrenaline is pushing you forward. You focus and you push your body past its normal ability as a runner. When a hill comes, you look at it in hate and grit your teeth to drill into it. The sweat drips down your face and back and your feet glide along as if they are being controlled by fierce anger.

The euphoric feeling that comes from a normal run is sweet enough but the feeling you get when you hit the streets with frustration and show the pavement, grass, track, hills and roads who is boss...now that is power.

Once again, run on.

Running in the Rain

I was at the YMCA on Tuesday debating whether or not I should run on the treadmill (dreadmill) or hit the streets in the rain. The only reason this was a question was because I only wore shorts and a tshirt and the rain was cold and the wind was strong. I eventually decided that I would rather freeze than endure even five minutes of treadmill misery! So off I went...

There is something about running in the rain that is refreshing. You have to squint to see where you are going, you have water dripping off of your hair and onto your face, you have mud splashing up on your legs and you have an occassional car that thinks it is funny to soak by speeding through a puddle. All this being so, you have the freedom to let loose and run without reserve. The rain cools you off, the rain makes you concentrate, the rain clears your thoughts, the rain appears so pure but, most of all, the rain challenges you as a runner. Are you willing to run in the rain? Are you willing to battle the whoosh of rain that hits your face when the wind blows? Are you willing to allow your legs to get numb and red from the coldness of the rain?

If so, call yourself a runner.

The next time you schedule a run and the weather man/woman says there is a possibility of rain...throw your hands up and say, "Bring it on!"