14 miles

I ran 14 miles this a.m. Thanks to a Ms. Kat Candler for getting me through the last 1/2 mile as she rambled on about something like walks on the beach with her Dad in Florida and physical therapy appointments. I was just watching the pavement, thinking .3 miles, .3 miles, .3 miles.
Then, there was the stopping point and I had done it.

I think I'm running for two reasons:
1)It's the only thing in my life I can control. I can decide to do it and I know I will do it.

2) It's just about me. Selfish? A bit...still, the healthier I am, the easier I am to be around. I'm more calm and focused and I'm thinner and stronger, so I can haul things and be there for others. Still, the hour or two I run is time I'm alone, thinking, forgetting, moving in any direction I decide to go in.

There's one more reason:
So far, I'm injury free, and while I'm no lickety split runner, I'm faster than I used to be, what I can control is deciding to do it and continuing to put one foot in front of the other. I feel the brisk air on my face and breathe it in and I feel like I'm 10 years old again. I imagine myself in the woods running after my big brother and his friends when they were always trying to lose me. I would be barefoot and I would be a mess, my ponytail all falling out and my clothes all dirty. I would be a mess, but all I thought about was how fast I was and how free I was. I'm 43, but when I'm running, I sometimes feel 10. I may have to grow my hair out so I can have a true ponytail again, one that swishes and falls apart.