Solitary Run

This is a picture of the trail I ran on this morning. It wasn't this nice out today, but it often is during the spring and summer. This particular shot was taken by the Tacoma Wheelman's Bicycle club. I just wanted to share the character of the trail with you. You can see the river peeking through on the right hand side of the trail.

Got up late this morning, but decided to meet the Y Runners even though I wasn't going to be on time. I wasn't sure until I awoke that I would even be able to run, considering how much my knee was talking to me yesterday. It didn't really hurt, it was just a little sore. So, I was just going to do three miles. If I showed up 20 minutes late, it would be no big deal, because I would then see everyone at the end and we could all go to Starbucks for our usual after-the-run social hour.

So, I get up, make my coffee, pop some bread in the toaster, and anticipated seeing all my running friends. I was excited at the prospect of running, because everyone should be back in town and I'd get to catch up on all their races. A couple folks had gone to California/Nevada for the Tahoe Triple. I had briefly considered going down to do the triathlon held that same weekend. The knee surgery took care of that idea. Other folks had been out of town at the Portland Marathon. I've done the 5-mile race there a couple of times, but have yet to attempt the marathon. It's just not been easy to work into my schedule.

Anyway, I head out the door and drive to the park in the nearby town where everyone usually meets. I'm stunned when I see only one car there and I don't recognize it. I realize that everyone must have met at another location that week and I missed the notice. I'm thoroughly bummed because it is now too late to figure out where they have all gone. Ah, well, nothing to do about it except go run all by my lonesome.

Funny, I use the term "lonesome" but I do so loosely. I'm rarely lonely when I'm running. I may be alone, but I'm not usually lonely. It used to be when I ran it was an arduous task. That was before I built up any kind of endurance or had any running friends. Now I find running is no longer a chore, it's a joy whether I'm alone or with people. I don't "have" to go out and run for 30 minutes or an hour. I "get" to go run for 30 minutes or an hour. The difference in perspective is what puts the joy into the run. I don't do it because I "have" to, I do it because I "want" to. I do it because I enjoy it.