Girl Power

I didn't care what I felt like this morning, I was antsy to get out on that run, and do an entire 9 mile loop over through the Seminoles. I've missed my long runs, and all the craziness lately has ramped up my need to be out and unfettered.

The weather, which has cooled with the rest of the country's winter blast, finally moderated. I was overdressed. But the winds, which still retain their chilly edge, blew strong enough to make me walk short stretches on the way back. But the lovely morning sun, spread over the back roads, caught behind blowing palms and shrubbery dense with early spring. The sky, cobalt and broken with clouds, smiled on me. I ran poorly, but grateful to be moving through, seeing familiar trails watching down the same sidewalks as before the race.

When CeeCee came to visit, she brought that Good wide energy back to me. Spreading breaths and heartbeats, open words, history owned and in the making. I love that I run with all of them in mind. I feel like I take my mother with me, and tell her about the feeling of flying down the overpass, the pick up pace before I get tired when for a short time, anyway, I am weightless and carefree. The moment of pure motion, the blurring of my Self.

I carry the flame of Paula and Deena, the uber-runners who take it to an art form. I pretend to be 20, and plan ultra-trail races, and smile because I dont think I can go back that much, but I might try.

I insist on my right to run the road, unencumbered. I'll remember next time, to leave more baggage behind, and pour my sorrow into my steps. Let the earth take it. Let the road lead me far away from intrusion, from care. I am light in the wind. I forgot who I am.