I've signed up for my first 5k--a turkey trot Thanksgiving morning. I've wanted to do a 5k for...oh, about 8 or 9 years now. I've tried the Couch-to-5k training program...oh, about 5 or 6 times now, haha, ever hopeful! Usually I get motivated in the spring or fall, when the weather is nicest, and then after a few weeks...well, I'm not sure what happens. Maybe it gets too hard, or I get distracted by some new thing to sink my time and energy into. Knowing me, it's probably more the latter (ooh, shiny!)
I had been jogging this past spring in New York, and had a 5k picked out--close to home, cheap entry, far enough in the future to give me a chance to get up to a point where I can jog the whole thing. Of course, life intervened (in a pretty huge way), I never signed up, and didn't continue jogging.
This fall, in Madison, with so many things going on (work, school, looking for an apartment--and then a car, also: wrapping up that life interruption), I somehow found the spare time and energy to start jogging again, found a new 5k to set my sights on, and on the last day before the registration fee increased, I committed myself (or at least $40) to the run!
It helps a lot that I live close to some great jogging paths--the UW Arboretum is nearly my backyard, and Lake Monona is just a short bike ride away. I got a bit sidelined this past week and a half with a cold, but with the 5k coming up in five weeks, I went out again for a run this afternoon, lingering cold symptoms be damned. I started on the usual paved roads in/around the Arb, but noticed a trail going off into a wooded area and immediately took the path less traveled ;)
It was one of those beautiful and enchanting places where the trees arch close overhead, creating a cathedral-like effect. The gently curving path gave just enough of an inviting view ahead. I didn't have to remind myself to relax and enjoy the run. The ground was low and a bit soft, but as I jogged on, the ground turned positively soggy and mud sucked at my shoes. I was really having too much fun to slow down, so I bounded left and right across the worst of the mud, hoping to land on a drier and firmer bit of ground. Leaping, laughing, frolicking, trying not to twist an ankle! I need to run cross country more often--it's much more fun than pounding pavement.
On the way back, I felt so good about the run--just about getting out and doing it, continuing to do it, the joy of the path--and the mud! I felt, again, gratitude. For my strong, healthy, beautiful body that allows me to have these happy moments, for the time and energy and dedication. In a moment, I realized: this jog is my prayer of thanks.
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