A Common Bond

I approached today's run with no expectations but to just get out there and have a better run than last week. I think that'll be my mantra from here on out; if my run feels better than last week...it's improvement. That is true for both the speed workout and today's team run.

I was fearful of Wednesday's track practice mostly because it was a muggy 80ish degrees, which can be a hydration nightmare. Two hours before the run I downed about 60 ounces of water...which meant a lot of pee breaks and at work that made for a nonproductive 2 hours. It must have helped because I finished the workout feeling MUCH stronger than the week before. We did 1.5 mile Indian run [is there a more PC term than that?] and a figure 8 around cricket hill with 2 big hill runs. I better get used to those as I hear KC is very hilly. Yikes!

This morning's run was great! It feels nice to finally have a good run..you know, the ones where the miles seem to fly by and, dare I say, I wanted to keep running?! Yea, I'm feeling pretty good right now, feeling like I conquered the world in an hour. Oh how I have missed you runner's high.

We started out going South from Wilson, under Lakeshore and a little past Belmont...I think. I wasn't paying too much attention. I was in my little world where everything was right.

After a quick pee stop at the first 1/4 mile, I ran with Coach Joe, which turns out to be pretty motivating. I've been concerned lately that the mileage during the week is not enough. Of course I'm only basing this off of my first training program which was much more strenuous during the week [I think that is what led to my hip and back injury last time]. He reassured me that I would be okay and I would finish uninjured. The last 5 miles were a blur of thoughts and emotions.

Mostly, I people watched. Today the path was packed so it was a good day for that. I watched the elites sprinting their mileage for the day. How do you do that? Their form is so graceful, their arms at perfect piston position, and their bodies seamlessly gliding through the air.

Very different from my slow and slightly spastic running form.

I noted the runners with their pets, the runners who looked like they had been doing it for years, and I watched the first-timers. I watched runners and conjured stories about their lives. Mostly, I felt an overwhelming sense of community. All of us on the path this morning were running for different purposes and reasons, we were from very different walks of life, but we all shared in the one common bond of running and enjoying a beautiful summer day in Chicago. In this huge city that I've now lived in for 2 years, I suddenly felt not as alone.

Listening to: This week is was a mix of Madonna's new album [I saw her concert on Monday and have been listening nonstop], the Beach Boy's...specifically "Don't Worry Baby" and Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl," which I like to change the lyrics to "Blue Eyed Girl." Fitting for this blonde hair, blue-eyed Jayhawk!