recovery.

i've been feeling under the weather over the past few days, so when i got home from work today, the only thing i wanted to do was change into my sweats and sleep for the rest of the night.  but instead, i forced myself to lace up my running shoes and willed myself out the door to go for a light run.  that "light run" turned into something more rigorous than expected.

within the first few minutes, i knew this run was going to be a good one.  this doesn't happen as often as i'd like, which meant i had to make it count.  so i did.  i ran to a park close to my house with a circular trail just over 400 meters in circumference.  being in the mood for some real physical pain, i decided to do some 400 repeats. and it hurt.  real bad. it just what i wanted and, come to find out, what i needed.  

amid the burning lungs and jello legs, a thought came to my mind: the body is an amazing thing. at the end each successive 400, i thought i reached my breaking point-- my lungs weren't going to be able to draw another breath without catching fire and my legs weren't going to be able to take another stride.  but after just a minute of walking it off, hands on my head, gasping for more oxygen, my lungs stopped burning and my legs regained enough function to go another round.   with time, my body recovered...

why i love running reason #356: it's a perfect metaphor for life. 

i'm grateful for the reminder that i will never, ever regret going for a run.