Stronger

Brief comment on new routine:
Lately, I have started running during lunch on the weekdays. I have enjoyed this new switch because the traffic is lighter, my dog loves it, and it is nice to run when it is warmer out and without the fear of twilight coming.
However, yesterday, I was able to leave work early and run around the streets of one of the small towns in which I work. It was a great over 5 mile run (which I think will be the start from climbing out of the rut I have been in). I left my office after 4pm, and I headed up one street with a nice climb. I turned left and started on a more rural road toward the outskirts of town. This road was flat, and I was able to zone out and feel my legs moving quickly. And, around minute 20 after my legs had really warmed up, I started to feel a new feeling that had been absent in these recent weeks; a level of strength that seemed new. Instead of a more labored breathing; I felt similar to a person in really good shape - quick clip of the legs, soft breathing, and I am sure I was smiling.

One can surmise for minutes, hours or days why we have these runner highs (this one lasted until minute 50). Did we eat enough food today? Did we get enough sleep last night? Have the weekend double digit runs helped? Notwithstanding all these questions and obsessive compulsive thinking - the one thing that will remain in my memory is that feeling, which has been so absent these past weeks (yes this was an intentional repetition) of strength and enjoyment in contrast to previous runs, which felt like a dreaded activity rather than an enjoyed hobby.