crazy little runner

something about me and running is this significant and spiritual experience. i find that i can get to know new places that i travel most intimately if i run there whether it be new mexico, england, arizona, washington dc, texas, mexico, kirkland, or california. i am visiting my sister and brother-in-law in glendale, california. they are settled up in the hills with a picturesque view of the mountains, the valley, a once used horse paddock, and incredible houses.

as i set out on a run this afternoon, i felt immediately connected with my surroundings. it was like i was breathing the fresh california air for the first time. i was viewing the hills, the roads, the trees, the nature around me for the first time.

the air here smells refreshingly of crisp eucalyptus plants and little lizards scatter surreptitiously when you walk down the path to the driveway. as i ran the streets, the leaves scratched lazily along the pavement and my mind wandered. i realize continually that my best thinking is accomplished when i pound the pavement--when i strip away the throngs of people, the shopping malls, the tourist attractions, the technology--those things that distract from the peace i experience by becoming one with the naturalness of my surroundings. all the stress i feel, the worries, the burdens, the frustration, the decisions...it all melts away when i run because i can figure it out and breathe deep while i think about how to work through it or simply forget it. i am able to pray through everything and just let God take control of all that stuff. the conversations of life, faith, and ponderings that have taken place with others while running cannot be created otherwise.

so, for those of you that sometimes indulge me with being my running buddy, you know that it's not about me trying to be some studly little work out girl, but it's that i starve for and crave the experience of running and what it offers. the aches and pains, the feeling of not being able to breathe, the ridiculously dry throat, and the mental anguish that running causes are clearly not the appeal of this crazy little runner. it runs much deeper than that.