Enjoying the fall and putting things in perspective.

Pretty good running week.  No big mileage numbers to brag about, no PR's or major breakthroughs.  But more importantly, I had a couple of runs that remind me why I do this.  Tuesday night I told my daughter that I would meet her at the gym.  She would drive and I would run.  It's about 6 miles to the gym and it was completely dark.  I put on my headlamp and headed out the door.  Nothing to write home about until mile 3, when everything just started to click.  Everything felt effortless and fluid.  With each quarter mile I would decide to push a little harder.  By mile 5, I was hitting a sub 6:30 pace and it still felt incredibly easy.  I was on a dirt path, completely dark with only my little headlamp lighting the way.  These runs are few and far between, but for about 15 minutes on a Tuesday night I found myself "in the zone."  Nothing else to say other than it was just plain fun!  I also had a good workout at the gym and some quality time with my lovely daughter.  Thursday night it happened again, only on the treadmill this time.  I did a couple of short runs in between some conditioning and found myself running under 6:30 pace with no effort.  Never happens twice in a week.

Saturday I was working at the running store.  A dad and his young daughter come in to look for some new running shoes for Dad.  He tells me a little bit about his running and what he is looking for.  I ask some more questions, look at his gait and start recommending some shoes.  He then tells me that what he is really looking for is a shoe with a lot of cushion and support, just for security on his right foot, where he had some surgery.  He didn't share any more, but I wanted to know more about the surgery and the extent of his injury.  Turns out his right foot had been completely severed in a boating accident and then reattached!  He had no feeling in that foot, but continued to run!  I watched him run and his form was absolutely perfect.  Incredible.  The story doesn't end there.  About 30 minutes later the daughter returns to the store, with her Mom this time.  The 10-year old daughter, obviously following here Dad's lead wants a pair of running shoes so that she can start preparing for cross-country and track!  (She's a 4th grader)  Its people like this who continue to run through horrific circumstances or during their chemotherapy treatments (we have someone doing that in our Wednesday run club) that are really inspiring.  Plantar Fasciitis doesn't seem like such a big deal.

Happy Running!