Friday, September 2, 2011

Bigger

Catching the Sunset

Outside Again!

Ready for Our Outside Run

Week of August 28, 2011:

Bike: Tuesday and Thursday

Run: Sunday (long treadmill run!) and Wednesday (short outside run)

Yoga: Monday (Gentle Hatha Yoga #3)

I’ve started to transition my runs off of the treadmill.  I’m really an outdoors exercise girl at heart—I’m (almost) always happier outside rather than inside.  At this time of year, the weather is a little wobbly.  Sometimes it feels almost pleasant, other times I’m cursing the heat and the trickles of sweat dribbling down my legs.  So I take my cue from the wobbly weather: sometimes I take the easy option and hop on the treadmill; other times I embrace the heat so I can enjoy running in the evening sunlight.  Now that the sun is setting earlier, the evenings start to cool down faster, so an after-work run is a treat, even if it’s a little sweaty right off the bat.

On Wednesday, I did a 13-minute run outside (my mileage is really getting up there, I know!), and I was reminded why I love running outside so much: the grandeur of that big blue Texas sky, the joy of actually going somewhere powered by my own two feet, the feeling of disconnecting from machines in order to connect with something bigger, older, and more beautiful.  To run outside is to subject one’s self to the elements, yes, but it’s also a kind of surrender to something that’s worth a bit of physical discomfort: a sense that there is a huge world out there, bigger than your tiny self, bigger than your daily worries and anxieties.  And it’s always there, always waiting for you and your next run.

2 comments:

  1. Oh so beautifully said! When I first ran outside this spring after months of only running on the treadmill all winter long, I felt a similar kind of feeling. The cold air burned my lungs and it was a challenge to pace myself again after the machine doing it for me for so many weeks, but it felt primal and amazing and beautiful.

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  2. Yes, primal! That is the word I was trying to find while I was writing. There is something so wonderful about reconnecting with your body and the outdoors after spending too much time inside, whether due to the heat, the cold, rain, snow, whatever.

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