My “day” job consists of continuous walking and standing,
resulting in tired feet when my shift is over, so thinking in terms of running
to and/or from work seems just a little bit insane. Yet, I decided to do just that…run home from work after a
long shift on my feet. While
possibly insane, it was one of the most rejuvenating runs I have taken to
date. Actually, I have run two of
these and enjoyed both of them immensely.
Why, you might ask? Well,
for a few reasons, at least.
I found that once I walked out the door of my workplace, it
all fell away. It was as if I had
never been at work that day. All
cares, all worries, all work-related thoughts were gone. When I drive home, I often rehash the
shift’s events or how things went.
Not so on my run. I was out
there communing with nature as I ran.
It was all about the running, the feeling of total freedom, letting go
of the day. I was active in the
moment in a highly tangible way I had not experienced before.
Even though my feet and body were tired, I felt a sense of
rejuvenation and awakening as my heart rate increased and the blood began
pumping harder through my arteries and veins. Instead of feeling sleepy and exhausted, I felt awake and
alert. It was as though I had
wings on my feet. While I did not
set a personal best the first time I ran home, which, by the way, is almost
exactly 3.1 miles or the equivalent of a 5k run, I came close and only missed a
PB by less than a minute. I
analyzed that first run and realized if I could cut off just one minute from
the first mile, I would have a new PB.
I set about to mentally prepare myself for that second run home, well
before I went to work that day.
As I set out, I again felt everything just fall away until
the moment reflected only the run, the goal, the sheer enjoyment, the drive,
the motivation, and the pain. Yes,
I said “the pain,” too. Not pain
in the sense of injury; rather, pain in the sense of pushing my body hard,
harder than I typically push it.
Inside that pain was the fulfilling sense of purpose, of accomplishment
on the near horizon. And, I pushed
through the pain, knowing it would be worth it when I crossed that imaginary
finish line at 3.1 miles. I was
not disappointed. I beat my former
PB by 53 seconds, which was not too shabby, especially in the heat of the
day. I hurt the last mile. I didn’t think I could finish it out,
as my legs felt like dead weight.
But, I pushed on anyways, knowing deep down in my heart I, indeed, could
make it and could keep up the pace.
It was an incredibly rewarding run and, while I was tired from the
effort, I felt alive and alert, once again, and felt as though I hadn’t worked
at all that day.
I will not attempt a PB every time I run home. Sometimes, I will just run a pace that
reflects a desire to just get out there and spend some time running and
communing with nature. Other
times, I will push harder, driving my body beyond it’s comfort zone, putting
forth increased effort to increase my physical and mental fitness even
more. You can be sure, though,
that I will continue running home from work when I can, if for no other reasons
than the love of running and the positive feelings that coincide with letting
go of the day and just being.
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