My dad used to tell me to put my feelings on the pavement. To take the anger or stress or whatever angsty teenage emotion was polluting my veins and pound it out running on the road or the treadmill.
I’ve been an inconsistent runner throughout my life — ranging from a half marathon to wheezing after a mile. Lately, I’ve been running again on the trails I usually hike. The intensity is intoxicating. It makes me feel strong and confident in my body. It makes everything else (the stress, the uncertainty, the anything) shut up for a few miles while I focus on making sure my feet don’t trip over the uneven ground.
(The uneven ground is why I’ve said trail runners were crazy for the past few years and told myself I couldn’t do it . . . yet spending so much time hiking them made me feel more confident . . . plus the only trail injury I’ve had was when I was leisurely walking and fell against a tree . . . smooth.)
Legs burning, skin dripping with sweat, and audiobook lecturing me about consumerism (current read: Your Money or Your Life), I am so thankful for the time I have to be outside and the good health in my life that allows my body to move in the way I want it to.
I’m a slow runner and I don’t have any ambition or passion tied to it as a sport. But I do have a lot of feelings. The pavement (or the trail) is as good as place as any to put them.
With Love,
Natalie