Hey, I'm 40 again

This evening, after the sun had set, I ran a planned 3.5 miles on the Jordan River Parkway. By the time I had completed one mile, it was dark, and beautiful. I enjoy running at night because the world seems different. Quiet, peaceful. There is enough light from nearby buildings and parking lots that I have no problem staying on the path. It's nice to look at the lights of nearby and distant buildings. As I went past a golf course, there were people on the putting range enjoying their sport in the cooler evening. I still heard birds chirping nearby. I could see lights reflecting off the water of the Jordan River, and there were black spots all over the river, ducks and geese settled in for the night. During the first part of my run, I saw quite a few runners and walkers and bikers finishing their workouts. I saw two kids, a boy and a girl, walking on the wooden rail that borders the first part of my run, their arms stretched out to provide balance. As I went past the boy, who was about 10, I said, "You're better at that than I am." He made a comment, but I couldn't hear what he said. During my run, I still had sweat all over my face, but not nearly as much as I have during mid-day when the temp is in the mid 90s (F).

It took me about 2 miles to warm up, and during the remainder of the run I felt like I did when I was cruising the back roads of Massachusetts. It was a great feeling! A feeling like I could go on forever. No pain, no huffing or puffing, just cruising at a 10:40 pace.

When I finished my run, I stretched by the large South Jordan sign that is at the beginning/end of my run. After I finished my "wall pushers" and I was standing by the sign, the thought came to me that I'm 40 again. The temperature was in the low 70s (F) during my run, and that lower temperature might have contributed to the success of this run. However, a few days ago I ran earlier in the morning when the temperature was in the mid 70s, and I didn't have this feeling. What ever caused the feeling tonight, it was nice!

I think this is the way that all LSD runs should be finished. No feelings of being tired. No huffing or puffing. No sore legs. Just a great feeling from having a strong, healthy body. Many runners will run LSD until they're really tired, until they can't run any more. I prefer to stop while I'm still feeling great and want to continue but know I need to stop. I prefer to stop while I feel great, so I can look forward to the next run. Running LSD this way is just intuitive with me, the logical and common sense way to run. I was glad when I first read George Sheehan's essay on jogging (The Basics of Jogging) to find that he also espouses this way of running. That essay was the first thing I ever read in the running literature, and I immediately bonded with the essay because most of the ideas he advocated were things that I was already doing. This is why he has been my mentor for all my years of running.