THE DAWN OF EUPHORIA

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself,

and under your own power.

You could go in any direction,

fast or slow as you wanted,

fighting the wind if you felt like it,

seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." 

  -Jesse Owens

Having had my cup of WAKE-UP java while reading a few emails, I mixed by BCAA's tonic, threw on my workout clothes, laced up my shoes, grabbed my MP3 player, and stepped outside to a surprisingly cool, crisp fall-like morning to begin my fasted cardio. 

Sweet.  Love this kind of weather.  It makes me wanna move.  Just move, move, move -- and never stop.  Makes me wanna shut out the rest of "life" and just have ME time.  Oh, yeah.  I work for a living.  Don't remind me...that hour will come soon enough.  Let me wallow willingly, wonderfully, without care in this first dose of ecstasy.

It's dark out.  Very dark.  I brace my foot against the brick of the gatepost and gently stretch, my heartbeat echoing, reverberating in the peaceful stillness, the only sound to usher me into MOVE mode. Switching on my Mp3, I quickly adjust the volume -- oops! surely everyone for miles could have heard THAT! -- and I began my five-minute warmup.  As my stopwatch hit 5:00, I began my run.  Now my footsteps are keeping rhythm with my heart, my breathing steadily rising, adding depth to my cadence.  Nice and easy, T.  Atta girl.  It feels good. 

Thirty-five mins later, having watched the sky slowly illuminate with the dawn, I slow it down to my five-minute cool down.  Oh, WHY must I stop?  WHY do I have to go to work?  Can't I just keep running on this glorious morning?

I finished my BCAA's and then began a slow hamstring stretch, then quad stretch...and slowly I reached toward the sky with my final stretch, and raising my eyes to heaven, I thanked God for a new day, for my health, and for the ushering of euphoria that I have experienced from my run on this lovely peaceful morning.