We were gifted an almost spring day today, and fate kindly anted up a couple hours off work this afternoon. I originally intended to collect on a sleep debt when I left the office early, but the sunshine and 50* weather conspired with the trails to lure me out for a run instead. I always push a little too hard on my first real run of the season. It just feels so good to finally get my feet moving on actual earth again after months of pounding on a monotonous hamster wheel - so much so that I tend to run faster and harder and push through more pain. I'll pay for it later, but today, I relished the twists and turns of the changing terrain, jumping over tree roots, sprinting up the hills, and squishing my toes in the mud.
After the snow melt, today's trail was just how I like it - muddy and wet. Maybe actually a little wetter than I might normally prefer, but I wasn't about to complain. My favorite path around the pond was flooded and still frozen over in spots, and it took ankle-deep freezing water for the third time before I determined I would end up going for a polar bear swim if I didn't turn back. Even the usually sandy path with the slow incline was muddy and flooded in places. It was glorious to splash and squash through all of it.
Filthy and wet, toes cold and numb, I finished my run knowing I was afforded a luxury on the trail today. It's not often that I get to enjoy the sunshine and great muddy outdoors on a Monday afternoon in February.
No comments:
Post a Comment