Weather - 38 degrees, cloudy.
I was finally able to run a short distance today, although if I had not overdressed, and was bothered by nipple chafe, it may have been a different story.
Yesterday was another great run, a steady rain fell for the first 9 miles, then it just misted for the final 8. I was so into the pleasure of running that I did not notice that my left nipple was bleeding. Usually that can be a painful experience, but it wasn't until I saw the round red stain on my bottom running shirt when I got home that I realized the heavy soaked clothing had caused problems.
Today my nipples were sore, and I thought it was going to be colder, so I was sweating a good amount. Those two things made me stop at 4 miles.
It is hard to believe how well my legs are holding up with all the middle-distance long runs I did this week. I thought for sure that I would be a little sore from yesterdays 17 miler, but instead my legs were lively and felt fine.
365 consecutive days of running. I didn't know if I had the type of body that could withstand the strain of everyday running, but I had no injuries, and there was rarely a day that I felt like I couldn't go. I was sick only 2 or 3 days, but I was still able to get out the door and run a mile or two.
This week I have been running as if in a dream. I have two types of running dreams, either I am going so slow that it feels like a crawl, bending over, even, to claw my way to the next step, or I am moving effortlessly quick, and for a long distance. These fast runs usually occur along the Chicago lake shore, probably because I lived there for 6 years in the 90's. This week I was going effortlessly long, and although it wasn't very quick, it felt fun and good. The fact that I am not tired at the end of the week from doing 75 miles in singles lets me know that I wasn't overdoing it, or trying to reach some mileage goal come hell or high water. It was just running in its purest form, to get out the door, to live life for the joy of it, to see and to be in the beauty of the world.
Without the 365 days of running, perhaps this week could not have been possible. It took a whole year to get to the point which my dreams declared was possible. A year is long time, but then again, it is not. May year two be just as long, and short....
#365 Now that I am making photographs again, I will sometimes post new pictures here. It does not have much to do with running, but it shows what I see when I am out on my training runs.
Road Study, Rain Effect
Printed 2008
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