Wide Open Spaces

The terrain: Minnehaha Parkway and the woods/trails alongside the paved paths
Time: Ran 60, walked 10
Distance: approximately 5 miles
Calories burned: 768
Max heart rate: 171 (up a very steep river embankment, in the woods, emerging at the intersection of Lyndale & Minnehaha Parkway)
Average heart rate: 142
The Music: "New iPod, New Playlist" workout mix + 15 minutes without music. Theme of the run: Wide Open Spaces by The Dixie Chicks

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There's a line by Kevin Spacey in the movie American Beauty -- something about "It's a beautiful thing when you realize you still have the ability to surprise yourself."

Today, I surprised myself. I woke up with a level of determination I haven't seen for quite some time -- and KNEW what had to be done. Without coffee, water, or breakfast. Without stopping to check my email, or read the paper. Without flipping on the weather channel or The Today Show... I rose, dressed, tended to the dog, put on my shoes, and RAN.

It was almost like I had a bigger force guiding me; knowing that I NEEDED today's run to get me back on track, back with the program. That if I stopped, faltered, even for ONE little second, even just to do the mundane, it would deter me from my goal.

My goal was a lofty one -- HAVE THE BEST RUN EVER.

It wasn't the best run ever, but it definitely makes the top 5, and was, without question, the best run I've had in AGES, perhaps since last year's marathon.

I had my new iPod, loaded up with a killer playlist. I had slept well. I was hydrated from the day before. Since I didn't bother eating or drinking anything before the run, I knew I wouldn't have indigestion or bathroom issues -- no potty breaks necessary. I could just run and run and run. And for the first 15 minutes, my body screamed at me, "I HATE YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING??? YOU COULD BE WATCING PROJECT RUNWAY AND DRINKING COFFEE!"

But once I eased into the run... once I gave it up and relaxed... once I admitted that, okay, maybe you're going too fast, so slow down a little and let your body catch up with your mind... it just flowed. My heart rate evened out, my body stopped hurting, and running felt natural again. Not clunky and jiggly and bumpy, but... comfortable.

Today was one of those days that I felt I could have run forever. Right now, I feel like I could go out and do it again. It makes me remember what it felt like to train for that marathon. And as I slapped my way down the trails and paths I know so well and love so dearly, life made SENSE again. I passed some familiar looking runners, many of them, no doubt, training for the upcoming marathon or 10 mile run. It's on October 5th, which means today is probably the start of the taper for many of my trailmates. We exchanged the head nods and "good mornings!" that only runners can share, that secret smile that says "yep, we rock, we know it, we're running in the morning."

As if there's any other way to more perfectly enjoy a fall morning in Minneapolis.

Running clears my mind, and today was no exception. The things that seemed dramatic and important last night and this morning suddenly don't really matter any more. The stressors of life are managable again. I used to quip that when I run is when I solve my problems, and today was no exception. And around mile 4.5, in the midst of a killer Madonna song, I spontaneously pulled the earphones out of my ears, and ran for 15 minutes... sans music. It was peaceful. There were crunchy leaves on the ground, and the trickle of the babbling rapids beside me. I caught myself practically muttering under my breath, conversations I needed to have, things I wanted to say. I planned out what I would write here. At that point, the run became a spiritual experience, and the iPod was no longer necessary.

You'll notice the little "ticker" at the top of my page -- I've sort of pro-rated the remainder of September... the goal is to in a total of 600 minutes of cardio (biking, walking, running, blading) by the end of the month. I'll have another goal of sorts for October, but haven't decided yet what it will be. Maybe I'll train for something.

When I was at my family's cabin a few weekends ago, my mom and I were out for a walk with the dog, when a woman passed us, running. My mom called after her, "Are you training for something?" and she called back "OH yeah, I'm always training for something!"

Today, as I passed a familiar point in my run, and exchanged a "good morning" and a head nod with a passerby, she called after me, "are you training for something?"

"Yep!" I responded. "Life."

Off and training,
~JessiferSeabs

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Song of the day: Wide Open Spaces by The Dixie Chicks

Who doesn't know what I'm talking about
Who's never left home, who's never struck out
To find a dream and a life of their own
A place in the clouds, a foundation of stone

Many precede and many will follow
A young girl's dream no longer hollow
It takes the shape of a place out west
But what it holds for her, she hasn't yet guessed

She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes

She traveled this road as a child
Wide eyed and grinning, she never tired
But now she won't be coming back with the rest
If these are life's lessons, she'll take this test

As her folks drive away, her dad yells, "Check the oil!"
Mom stares out the window and says, "I'm leaving my girl"
She said, "It didn't seem like that long ago"
When she stood there and let her own folks know

She needs wide open spaces
Room to make her big mistakes
She needs new faces
She knows the high stakes