Sunday is my favorite day of the week. Being that I'm a creature of habit I tend to wake up before the sun. The world is still spinning but most of the time life seems to be standing still. Sunday is the one day of the week where I generally get in my long run, even if I'm not training for anything specific. The peace I get being out on the road before the world opens their eyes has a very calming effect on me and resets my restless mind for the upcoming week.
As any runner would tell you there are a plethora of ideas and thoughts that cross our minds when we are pounding the pavement or running the trails. I tend to use the road as much needed time with my best friend and this past Sunday we decided to shared some memories. Memories that made me smile and a few that caused a tear or two.
Mile 2 of a 13 mile run I was focused and could feel my body starting to get loose finally hitting a nice pace. Concentrating on my form, breathing and pace as I usually do during training. Suddenly my mind wandered completely off the reservation and all because of one song that popped up on my iPod. Colder Weather by the Zac Brown Band.
This song will always be linked to the loss of my boxer Sammy, not because of the words or the story it tells but because it was the song playing on the way home from the vet that sad day I said goodbye. So with that in mind it probably goes without saying that when the tune hit my ears more than a few tears were shed as I remembered all of the crazy, happy years we spent together.
As the tears dried up I thought about all of the funny times we shared and those memories brought a smile to my face. I know she's in a better place and that eases the ache in my heart. My mind drifted to the people that have come and gone in my life over the past several years. My memories of the people that have touched or inspired me and the friends that made me realize that life could be worse. The remainder of the run I thought about each of them and where they are in life. I thought about why our friendships faded. I second guessed myself for not telling them how much they meant to me and how they touched my life.
I often question myself when I'm on a run. The questions can be very simple to life altering decisions. On this day I questioned why in certain cases I didn't fight to keep those incredible people in my life and just as a cloud passes over the sun I realized that this is the way things are suppose to be. Sometimes you can fight too hard and push someone away, sometimes not hard enough and that someone will pass through your life like a summer breeze. On that run I accepted that everyone is on their own road. Running at their own pace sometimes joining you for a mile or two until their path takes them in a different direction. I guess hearing that song made me realize that I need to work on showing my appreciation for friends while we're still running together. Maybe our paths will cross again where I can show my appreciation. I'll keep hoping that if or when they do I'm able to express to them the same love and happiness that I shared with my old boxer Sammy.
