Times Like These

I had a tough day at work on Thursday. I arrive home and tell my wife about it. She knows exactly what I’m thinking and before I can say it, she suggests that I go for a run. It’s times like this that running can turn a day around. It can reach deep into your spirit and bring you back smiling. I’ve said it before, it’s a beautiful thing.

I lace up my shoes. My vet just recently informed me that I can run with my pup-Jax. She said “As long as he’s leading, it’s okay. He should never be struggling to catch up, and has to train just like any human.” I’ve been taking him with me a couple of times a week on the trails, I love that we are both in sync out there in the forest. As I put on my shoes, he looks at me and is ecstatic when I grab his leash as invitation to come along.

With each foot step my day improves. I hit the forest path and the autumn weather continues to make me smile. In my mind, fall is the best season for running. It’s visual, it’s not too hot or cold, and it smells great! The only negative with fall running can be the ground coverage. My footing is pretty good for the current conditions until we reach about 8KM. I take a corner hitting a quick interval and stub my toe on a rock, somersaulting head over heels. My landing is okay, it’s become a science for me on the trails, but my toe has a pulse. I lay on the ground looking skyward, screaming profanities, and eventually laughing in pain. Yeah…one of those moments. Jax comes and lies beside me making sure I’m alright and covering my face in drool. I take a few more moments, and wipe my face off. Usually I can recover quickly from a fall and not miss a beat, but this one hurt. I’ve always loved trail running for the roughness and ruggedness, but I caution you: Take a phone on trails! I wish I had a phone to call for a pick up, but I was 3.5KM away from home!

I stumble homeward, not certain if I broke a bone in my big toe or bruised it badly. After trying to jog a bit, it almost feels broken, just from the acute pain. Certainly one downfall to barefoot shoes, trails are a little rougher on your feet. Despite my long hobble home, I am grateful for this run, it’s exactly what I needed. Jax was delighted to have joined me, though my hobble was too slow for him. You have to love times like this;I’ll laugh about it later. After all of the races I’ve done lately, perhaps this is a sign to relax a bit.

Here’s to you! When in doubt, run it out!