New meaning of Runner's High

I went for my first run of the new year.* I haven't run since the end of the summer. I never broke in my Newtons or custom orthotic insoles. I have been procrastinating lacing up. Every day I would tell myself that I would run the next day or on the weekend. But excuses kept piling up.

Today was the first day in a long time that I've left work at a reasonable hour. I was racing against the rain. When I got home, I found that Roady had craftily removed his cone. Immediately after greeting me, he plopped down and started licking his phantom testicles. I put the cone back on.

I changed into running gear; strapped on my Garmin and RoadID, etc. Even though it was chilly I wore shorts. Normally I would even wear a tank in the cold, but opted a for a long sleeve top with a pocket in the upper sleeve for my iPod. I guess I'm not getting as fussy about the needing the freedom of bare arms and legs.

As I walked out of my apartment, I started my Garmin Forerunner 205. Once I hit the bay, I started running. When I glanced at the watch, I noticed it kept auto pausing and the display kept flipping back and forth between modes. I kept trying to fiddle with it while running. I turned it off and back on and ended up just running with it in my hand.

After about three blocks, I felt some twinges of strain in my shins. But it worked itself out as my legs warmed up. I couldn't tell how fast I was going, but it felt slow. I didn't even attempt to apply any torque to my turnover, I just let each foot fall in its own time and place.

I met with the usual resistance on the boardwalk, weaving around human obstacles as if I were running the first two miles in a marathon. As I approached the Banana Bungalow I began to smell what I thought was skunk. As the smell intensified, I realized it would be one very green skunk. I've never liked the smell of pot. I used to think it smelled like sweat. I guessed it wouldn't matter since I'd end up smelling that way on my own.

I ran to the end of the boardwalk and turned around. I had fleeting thoughts of taking a walk break, but desperation didn't take me down. At PB Dr, I was trying to decide how much farther I wanted to run. Overall I felt good enough to make it to the Giant Dipper, but I started to have some foot pain. I decided that I would head home before I started racking up junk miles and risk injury first thing in the new year.

I felt relaxed and patiently navigated through tourists taking photos of the sunset. I even said "excuse me" instead of my usual irritated yell of "LEFT" as I passed oblivious people. I did get a little annoyed when a cyclist kept riding into me as he watched the sunset. It wasn't until I had to jump up onto the opposite curb that he realized what he was doing. I got to experience what it feels like to have circles run around me as this other runner's little dog kept running back and forth in front of me and back to her owner. I guess I shouldn't have passed her owner.

I am in awe of the beauty of my run. I was reminded again why I love where I live. I saw beauty in the rolling glass on the bay, an ocean blanketed in soft red clouds, and the camaraderie of fellow runners. I finished the run strong and didn't feel like I'd killed myself and had even passed some runners. When Ahi got home he said he didn't know how I could just go out and run 4 miles today after not having run in so long. I surprised myself too.

Knowing that my body has not forsaken me, I am extremely hopeful for this year's training. Hopefully I will learn from the mistakes I've made in the past. Hopefully blogging will keep me accountable for my actions and inaction. Hopefully I'll experience a real runner's high again instead of just a contact high.

*4.11 miles in 39 min; 9:29 pace