this is the part where i make a shameless plug for the couch to 5k app, on my iphone. it has been worth every nickle. it's high on the list of favorite material things, at the moment. i'm not crazy about the voice cue, but that's the worst thing i can say about it. the guy tells me when to run and when to walk, and the rest of the time, he shuts up and listens to my playlist.
under the playlist is the sound of thomas park...the pick-up soccer match in the middle field, the giggles and squeals from the playscape and swing set, the chit-chat of pairs walking or meeting to walk or finishing up a walk, the low hum of the vehicles and the almost-silent sissss of the bicycles on the street, and birds calling back and forth to each other from the oak trees that line the park. i love this park. i found it totally by accident, and it was exactly what i was looking for. i love running in this park. i have to make myself not run on my off days. that is something that i'd never have imagined i would feel about running, not even after i had really committed to training for the marathon.
i know that at some point, in the not too distant future, the distance i am capable of running will outstrip the third-mile track i visit every other day, and i'll have to move to the trails at wolf-pen or start running at bee creek, instead, and start running bleachers. but that's at least another month away. and that's ok. i can imagine that i'll still run thomas park, every so often, just because i'll want to. it's been a safe place to relearn how to run, to hold my body, to breathe, and feel settled inside myself. and it's easy, in this little park, just off the main street in happy valley, to remember that it's not important how fast i run, or how far i run. what is important is to run well. to push hard enough to know i'm working, but not so hard i can't walk the next day, to remember my form, to integrate all the movements, to remember it's not about anything but right this minute. running and yoga and praying feel like a lot of the same things to me, right now. to find that still and quiet place inside myself, so that i can reflect on the day, the hour, the minute, the second...and then, get to that place that's just...quiet. that's worth a lot of ice for my screaming knees. a lot.
it's this little magic spot, in this ordinary neighborhood. this city does a really, really, really phenomenal job on their parks. i am a fan. i like running around 7:30 or so, at night. this time of year, in this part of the world, that's magic hour, and if the clouds and the sun and the trees and the grass and the angels all sing just right, you'd believe you could run for a thousand years, and die with a smile on your face. it's this incredible silvery, lush grey, with spring green and muted blues and shy pinks and it's one of the ways i know G-d loves me.
and these are the songs i listened to, when i was running at thomas park, today:
1. under my thumb--the rolling stones (it's a good song to use as a wind up)
2. chest fever--the band (...like you didn't see that one coming.)
3. atlantic city--levon helm (...i know...i know...so good)
4. hold on, i'm coming--sam and dave (that hook KILLS me in the best possible way, every single time)
5. righteously--lucinda williams (she's kind of a badass, and i LIKE running to this song, because the solo just SHREDS.
6. case of you--joni mitchell (oddly a really nice torch song to run to, i was skeptical about putting it this close to the end of a run, but it was a nice steady pace, and that dulcimer is just SO sweet. graham nash was a lucky guy.)
7. highway 61 revisited--bob dylan (again, no shocker. this is my favorite song to put at the end of a run. it's a great little kick to finish with, and sometimes, i feel sassy enough to sing along, in my head.
8. DON'T JUDGE
whatcha say--jason derulo (i hate how much i like this song. i LOVE imogene heap's original. that whole album reminds me of my apartment at camp, and that absolutely insane and wonderful summer. this song, though...well, it's up there with jill scott's"hate on me" for making me feel a little bit sassy. that was a good thing to feel at the end my run, today.
i'm writing a lot. i'm reading a lot. i'm playing a LOT of music, and i have GOT to go buy new strings, this week. i'm spending a lot of time on the phone. i'm constantly and pleasantly surprised by grace, peeking around the corners of my life. i feel like i'm stretching out into this place, and this season in my life. it's like finding my stride, again, after not having run for so, so long. it's familiar and brand new, all at the same time. i'm incredibly grateful.
mil besos,
rmg
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