Bringing Order Out of Life's Chaos

Today's run was simple, but tough: a one mile warm up, followed by 2 x 5 hill sprints, which turned my one mile cool down into a crawl. But as tough as today's run was, I remain grateful that I was able to run outdoors at all. Without naming names, there have been a few places I've lived over the last couple of decades where running outside or at night would be a terrible idea. Pollution, crime or personal safety concerns forced many of my workouts indoors - it's a privilege to sweat in the open!

I also realized that running - even when it's been sporadic - has served as an anchor throughout the tumult of life: from break-ups to beginning new jobs, from crossing borders to becoming a parent. How so? When the running is light, I feel great. When the running is intense, I'm just happy to breath. Whatever may have troubled me before quickly became an afterthought. I once told my wife that when I was a teenager, running kept me out of trouble. But the more I think about it, the same could probably be said for all the other years since.