Pounding the Pavement

Please note the expression on the by-standers face...and the fact that he's not wearing any shoes when it's clearly cold outside on a Saturday morning. I have loved running in downtown Worcester, which has been dubbed by many as 'Paris of the 80's'.

The past week has been a whirlwind of tour-guiding, trail-running and school vacation madness! A few days before my training group's eight-mile trail run, we were told that this would not be an iPod friendly run. Much to our chagrin, we were actually going to have to talk to each other; something that I would normally love but not so much while I'm running.

Lo and behold, it was one of my best runs yet. Engulfed by nature and the sound of my own huff and puff and blow your house down, then I realized...I'm not really huffing and puffing. Somewhere over the last two months I've learned to regulate my breathing. Every once in awhile taking that deep breath and letting it out to calm the old girl down, and breathing harder on hills but overall, I'm starting to really love this.

A Saturday morning that started out with the rush, rush to quietly load Charlie's old crib and mattress into the car and drop it at my friend's yard sale before the run, ended with quiet reflection as I drove back along the Wachusett Reservoir after completing my longest run to date.

This is really happening. I'm going to complete a half-marathon in just over a month. I've lost a little over twenty pounds, and I feel fantastic. The long list of move-ready to-do's are getting checked off one by one, including the biggie of selling my husband's car. The load is lifting from my shoulders and I think that a huge part of it has been the gift I gave myself two months ago...time for myself.

It started as just twenty to thirty minutes of time all to myself; now I get almost 2 hours on Saturday mornings to let my mind wander about how I'm going to decorate each room, what I'll plant in my garden, and my next tropical vacation. All to the backdrop of the latest tunes on my iPod.

I used to say I'd never run a marathon, but now I know all those people were right...once the running bug bites you, you're a goner. I'll leave you with my latest addition to 'Sally's funky fresh fitness' playlist.

Jack Johnson - You And Your Heart: "To The Sea"