Treadmills can never give you this

I was just realizing, it probably seems like I go running all the time, doesn't it? I write about it a lot. I really don't go as often as I wish I did, I think I just have a lot of feelings about it so I end up blogging about it. (Or maybe I'm trying to make you all THINK I go running a lot . . . . )

But last night, I did indeed go running, and it was magical. I read this article the other day and have been thinking about it a lot. I feel like I get a lot of visual stimulation, because I am sitting at a computer all day at work, but my other senses are sometimes feeling impoverished. Anyway, I set out on a run that I call "the usual," a 3 mile loop near my house that is actually pretty flat, which is hard to come by in my hood. And it was like a feast for the senses, I tell you what!

The sprinklers. I loved hearing them go tik tik tik tik tktktktktktktk--you know the sound. And when I ran by them my shins got sprayed and my face felt the mist. Wet sidewalk: one of my favorite smells. There was lavender, and other flowers that my olfactory palette is not sophisticated enough to identify. There was freshly cut grass, too.

There was a backyard wedding reception going on, and I couldn't see the bride or groom, but I could see lanterns strung up in the trees, which looked like they were twinkling as I passed and caught glimpses of them through the branches. Etta James singing "At Last" was reverberating through the neighborhood, and the guests were cheering for what must have been the first dance.

I love the awareness I have of my body when I run. The breathlessness, my feet hitting the pavement, even the way my left knee aches. I could feel that both Achilles tendons were tight at first, but eventually loosened up. When I start to get tired I pay less attention and run in a zig zag, as if trying to elude a gunman.

There were teenagers flirting at the shaved ice shack. And at the car wash. I heard a girl yell to someone, with laughter in her voice, "I hate you!"

The guy walking his dog brought that distinctive sound of a jingling dog tag and a panting pup. Someone was having what smelled like a bonfire, but it's possible it was just their backyard grill. 

I loved the crickets. Chirping as you approach, then clamming up when you get there, then resuming their chatter once you're gone, like mean girls gossiping. 

Near the end of my route there isn't a sidewalk, and the sound of gravel under my feet is such a satisfying mix of a crunch and a squish. Around that same point is when I didn't quite see a bush that is mostly dead, and had to hurry and get my face out of the way of its poky, inflexible fingers reaching out. I brushed it with my shoulder, and as I passed, I heard all those dead twigs rustling and bumping into each other.

I felt that drop in temperature when you pass by trees and shrubberies, rather than fences and driveways. I thought about the acoustics of trees, too. At one point in the run I am next to a stone wall, which then gives way to a lot of trees. And next to the wall, the sound of the cars passing bounces back and is amplified. But when you're next to the trees, that doesn't happen. I thought that maybe the trees soak all the sounds in and keep them. Maybe, like Gretchen Weiners's hair, that's why they are big. Because they are full of secrets.

Another interesting thing about this particular run, is that for no reason at all, I decided to run on the other side of the street. I still ran the usual route, but crossed the street, and suddenly I was so aware, and so present. It made me think about what else in my life I need to switch up, you know? What am I missing, simply because I've created a routine? Would changing a very little thing have huge results? I'm telling you, running is deep shiz.

(But really, I got to thinking about how often I've written about running and decided to collect them all here. There's this one, written way back when. Like when I weighed 30 more pounds than I do now and hated running. And this one from around the same era. This is the first time I had a life lesson from running. Here's my first half marathon. And if you didn't believe me about the 30 pounds, just check that one out. Dang, girl. One from the days when I used to run home from work, when we only had one car. And this one about wetting my pants during a 5K. Frillz. [I have zero shame, apparently.] Here's one about my second half marathon. This one about what I honestly still think of as The Best run of my life. Here's one chronicling the quarter marathon 2011. This one about longboarders. And the most famous blog post I've ever written, which is about quarter marathon 2012. Also, have I really only posted 10 times in 2012? That is nuts.)