Run Is Where the Heart Is

Never have I run so hard without a ponytail being involved. But I’ve always said I don’t have a “type” and that while I admire a gorgeous, flowing mane of hair or a taut derriere or a well-turned calf or what-have-you, I am a “total package” guy. That means I don’t focus on one attribute and I’m not looking for someone who has all of them wrapped into that “total package.” I’m attracted to how she comes together with whatever God gave her. Oh, and brains are a big part of that package.

I did pick up this nail to spare someone a flat.

 There’s this girl – I’ll call her X – who is the total package. OK, before you pile on one more criticism, I use the term “girl” to convey youthfulness. She makes me feel young. I feel young on my own, too. And she has a youthfulness about her, too. “She’s a woman,” to quote The Beatles, but I think of us as boy and girl. I like that. So don’t bitch that I’m demeaning a woman by calling her a girl.

Anyway, there’s this girl, X, who has my rapt attention. She’s a runner, too. Today she inspired me to run. And she inspired my running. Figuratively I think I’ve inspired her running, too. She’s running faster and farther and with greater endurance than she ever has. She’s elusive; Barry Sanders of the Sole Sisters movement this one. She’ll run with a group, but not with me. Always a few steps ahead. Occasionally she’ll drop a hitch in her step, like a receiver trying to throw off a speedy cornerback in tight coverage. But then she kicks it back into her long-legged stride and pulls ahead again.

And suddenly that’s all I’ve got. Simile and metaphor are spent. All the thoughts that were running through my mind as I ran through the streets are now breath in the cold winter air – tangible for a moment, then gone. You know how a dream fades within minutes of waking? Like that. Maybe a hot shower will recapture where I was headed with this.

It was just relationship stuff. How confusing and difficult they are. How we struggle with the balance between taking risks and holding back for fear of making mistakes. How they take time and energy and patience and they’re totally worth that. But it can be a challenge to follow through with those efforts. Particularly the patience. At least for me that’s the tough one. I suppose it was a message then that I should randomly choose a paper star with the word “Patience” on it in church two weeks ago – something for me to work on in the year to come.

The other day I made note of my connection to music. I chose today’s playlist because I wanted songs I knew I liked and that would keep me moving (there are a couple slow grooves in there, but they work). I didn’t want to have to deal with some damned jazz piece or instrumental soundtrack number that would throw off my pace and concentration (not that I pace my stride on the music, and I wasn’t really concentrating). Amazingly, a lot of these songs spoke to my thought processes today: Roll With the Changes, Hold On Loosely, Wrapped Around Your Finger, Caught Up In You, Owner of a Lonely Heart.

I don’t know what I’m doing throwing all this out there. Just sharing what’s in my head because that’s what I do here. Damn, I need to remember to carry a bag and pick up stuff to write about.

Today's Stats

Temp: 10 degrees F

Distance: 5.78 miles

Weekly Total: 5.78 miles

Treasure: Nothing

iPod Playlist (KGHS Mix):

Roll With the Changes

Hold On Loosely

In the Dark

Rock You Like a Hurricane

Rock of Ages

In the Air Tonight

Wrapped Around Your Finger

Caught Up in You

Somebody’s Baby

More Than a Feeling

Time for Me to Fly

Rosanna

Mr. Roboto

Owner of a Lonely Heart