Sometimes I run... and it's alright

I am writing this on Friday, February 15, 2019 (I'm not exactly sure when it will be posted). Nonetheless, this was a good running day. Sometimes that will happen.

I am always perplexed by people who tell me they don't like to run. Well, I don't really LIKE doing it either most of the time. However, I do normally like how I feel afterward, plus I like the benefit to both my physical and mental health. But it is usually a chore while running, and I almost always dread it before and at the start of a run.

Sometimes... though... Sometimes it feels REALLY good. My legs move well. My breathing is almost non-existent. My mind is clear. Those are good days. Really good.

I'd actually been feeling pretty good the past few runs on the treadmill. Running fewer miles at a time seems to have energized my legs. On this day, though, I changed up a couple things... and it felt even better.

For one thing, I ran on one of the "big" treadmills we have where I work. Normally I run on one that has a TV on it, and I watch youtube videos of music. Today I opted for one of the fancy treadmills we have that are bigger and they basically just have an iPad on the front panel. I couldn't figure out how to get it to work with my Bluetooth earbuds, so instead, I just listened to music on my phone. Apparently, there is just one ZZ Top song, and two Billy Idol songs; then I also listened to some Led Zepellin, and finished up with Neil Young. Not only was the treadmill nicer, but music on my phone is way louder than through the TV on the other treadmills. I'm sure those two things helped.

Anyway, I started out by walking for a couple minutes, then cranked it up to between 6.5 and 7.0 mph for most of 35 minutes, then I jogged and walked the last 30 minutes. During the first 30, I actually did a 5k (3.1 miles) in 28 minutes and 46 seconds (which included the walking at the beginning). That's faster than I usually do on a treadmill. I was pretty happy about that.

Interestingly enough, too, after being just a couple days removed from a minor mental blip... and my head feels really good today. And this is a day I don't take my meds (I've been trying to alternate days in an attempt to stop - not sure if this is how it should be done or not).

So, every now and then I will have one of these days while running - even on the treadmill. Everything feels good. My feet, knees, legs, stride, lungs, arms, neck, and, yes, sometimes even my head. Thank you, Jesus.