In the Clear

Today I took a much needed trail run… WISHING I had my new Adidas Kanadia 4 trail runners. Anyway, I took the trail named Lakeside Speedway Trail, it had the MOST difficult rating on its sign, but I did it anyway. I was quite pleased with myself, especially when I practically skidded down the hillside to the lake. The view was beautiful, the lake calm, my nerves were calm & my head, in the clear.

I have Hospital Hill Half Marathon on Saturday & am in no way, shape, or form feeling ready. I’ll be glad to have no goals after this one. Well, at least for a couple of weeks.

I needed this run today because I feel as though I have been “on edge” for the last week or so (who am I kidding; always) & just needed time to sort thru all of the things in my head. Dealing with work, summer schedules, house hunting, training &ridding myself of toxic people makes me feel overloaded. With a cleansing sigh, I set out on my run. Key all tied up in my shoe, Nike+ GPS set, music cued, head, in the clear, I felt good about my slower pace. I took a trail I don’t normally like to take so I would really need to concentrate on the trail, not any of the things mentioned above. I ran to the shoreline & took my gloves off, sat down & listened to my music. It was comfy, warm & the sound of the water was sweet. It’s times like that when I miss the ocean terribly.

When I set back out to the trail, I felt better; I felt lifted, even. Having to head into the clear is necessary, especially in trail running… your time always gets a little better when there’s clear path ahead.  Having my head in the clear, makes life a lot easier. Someone asked me one time what I thought about when I ran… I had to think about that… I honestly don’t think about anything. I like to listen to my music, all in order because I want to know what song comes next. I like all kinds of music, Dr. Dre, Britney Spears, Linkin Park, Beastie Boys, Carrie Underwood, Mirah, Pitbull, Tim McGraw, Thousand Foot Krutch, etc., etc., etc… I don’t like the edited versions of music. I want the full on, parental advisory warning kinda songs. I wanna sing ‘em out loud to myself, because it’s a release for me. I don’t HAVE to think about anything. My mind, my head are in the clear.

I had several butterflies following me today. I don’t know if they knew it was me, or if they were just fluttering by coincidentally. They did make me think of my friend Sandi… this weekend will be the 5^th anniversary of her passing. I get misty when I think of that, but the butterflies made me smile. I didn’t see any snakes today. I was pretty glad about that. I did see a VERY fat salamander, & 2 squirrels. One squirrel ran beside me for a little bit. He was cute. The other squirrel scared me because he was flat on his belly, all limbs spread out, like he was hurt, or dead. He was neither, just relax’n perhaps… getting his head, IN THE CLEAR.

My other runs this week will be short & sweet, mind in the clear, no doubt. Dreading Hospital Hill for sure. Any run’s a good run though, sooooooo… Happy running y’all!