Because I Have To

I didn’t want to run today. I don’t want to run today. It’s 11 a.m. as I start this and I just now got out of bed for good. I’ve been up a couple times already, but I crawled back under the covers after a quick visit to Facebook.

No explanation for it. I’m not sick. Not depressed. I feel great, really. I’ve got some things happening in my life that give me joy and hope and happiness and peace. So why did I want to stay in bed? I wasn’t particularly tired. It just felt good and I wanted nothing to do with work or running or the sink full of dirty dishes from last night’s semi-homemade dinner (mac ’n cheese from scratch and Totino’s pizza rolls).

But my old college buddy Dave used to say it was those Sunday mornings when you just didn’t feel like going to church that you really needed to go. You needed that spiritual lift, that message, that community. And while running most days for me is a solitary endeavor, it is uplifting, enlightening, encouraging, fulfilling. So I’m charging my battery – mentally more than physically, through this early start on a blog about a run I haven’t yet done. And I will now get my running clothes on and hit the streets.

I need this. I have to do it. For me.

And now it is done. Five miles. Shorts. iPod trouble. Do I feel better? You bet. Do I still want to crawl under the covers? A little. Do I look forward to the end of the night before I’ve even begun my shift? Yep. Do I enjoy what I do? I love it. Do you understand me? I wonder.

Today's Stats

Temp: 40 degrees F

Distance: 5 miles

Weekly Total: 8.83 miles

Treasure: 38 cans

iPod Playlist (80s Dance Mix cont’d.):

What’s On Your Mind (Pure Energy) – Information Society

Venus – Bananarama

Rock Me Amadeus – Falco

Come Go With Me – Expose

Relax (New York Mix) – Frankie Goes to Hollywood

(KGHS Mix)

Roll With the Changes – REO Speedwagon

Hold On Loosely - .38 Special

In The Dark – Billy Squier

Rock You Like A Hurricane – Scorpions

Rock Of Ages – Def Leppard

In The Air Tonight – Phil Collins

Wrapped Around Your Finger – The Police