The perfect kind of run

After a crazy busy month, it's been nice to have a couple of days off all to myself. I had a great run today....one of the ones that reaffirms why I actually enjoy logging mile after sweaty mile. I'm not sure why I waited until 10:30am to run today, though...the lure of a lazy morning was too great to resist. I eventually made it to the Chattahoochee, though, and started what promised to be a miserable, hot workout. The air felt as thick as pudding, like you actually had to push through it to get somewhere. I slogged down the gravel path towards the real forest trails where I like to get in some good hill workouts, feeling lousy. And then, it was like that moment in Field of Dreams, where the baseball players step up to the edge of the cornfield and disappear. I stepped up to the edge of the treeline where my trails begin and it was like stepping into a dark, cool world of green. Gone was the humidity, the glaring sun, the crunch of gravel underfoot. As I began my ascent up the hill, all I heard was my own breathing, with my footsteps muffled by the soft earth and pine needles that lined the trail. My iPod even cooperated, sending out slow, mellow tunes that totally matched the setting of the trees. The sun was dimmed by the canopy of the trees, with dapples of light peeking through to highlight patches of the forest floor. Sure, it's a tough workout....legs burning and heart racing the whole way, going straight up the side of the tree-covered hill. And then it's aching quads and knees for the descent, taking quick steps and trying to keep my feet underneath me despite the tree roots, rocks, and loose dirt that threaten to take me down. And then, all of a sudden, I pop out of the trees, back into the glare of the sun and through a wall of humidity. I like the glances from other walkers on the path, like "where'd she just come from?" I slogged back down the path to the trailhead for one more good lap before heading back to my car, worn out, wrung out, and totally pleased with the morning. That, my friends, is why I like running.