After what felt like an eternity, I was finally able to return to a good run this weekend. Three glorious days of running through the forest and seeing the world fresh and new from the rains and spring being here. The leaves were so brilliant in color that I was blown away at the beauty of it all. I hope the photos do it some justice.
Saturday started later than I had planned. I had managed to get into bed fairly early on Friday night, however, I woke up around 1 and while it was only 30 minutes that I was awake, that really slowed me down in getting out the door. I had originally planned to do my loop that I haven’t done in a while, but, when I had finished getting ready, I looked at my dog and thought we need to hit a trail. So we headed up to my favorite place to go for now, the outdoor classroom as it was called when I was growing up, otherwise known as Big Springs Environment Area. There are a few trails that wind their way up to the lake. I thought about how long I had and decided that I would have to wait and do a longer run on another day, today, I had an appointment that I refused to be late to at 10.
I started up the mountain, not really wanting to go fast, after all, it’s been quite a while since I had run. I went at an easy pace, going up the mountain. The goal today was to just do the best I could continually. I was still stiff from last weekend, but, things had loosened up a lot and I was needing to get out and move. Plus, I needed to take the dog out for her walk.
The scenery was stunning on this morning. The way the sunlight kept coming through the trees made me think I was staring at a post card. It truly was amazing! I lifted my head at one point, stopping for a moment and smiling up at the sky. It was like coming home. That feeling of doing what makes you feel joy and allowing that moment to sink in and absorb it like a sponge. I feel that in sunlight in the forest. I feel that in the spray of the ocean on my face. It’s like a recharging of your battery. I took this time to really think about a few of those who are struggling and some who are having a rough go. I thought about. a lady in my running group, Julie, who is dealing with brain cancer. She had been given 14 months to live. It’s been 12 and she’s doing so much better than what the doctors thought was possible. She’s beautiful and she is an inspiration to me to keep going, no matter how bad it seems, there is still hope.
When I came to the end of that run, I was feeling so good. I could take on the world! It was amazing, but, now, it was time to get home and get ready.
When it came time to get up on Sunday morning, I was again tired and managed to get out of the house and hour later than I had the day before. I decided that I wanted to go back to the outdoor classroom, but today, I would take the other trail loop up the hill and back. It was again sunny, and I was in a tank again today, how I love the feeling of the sun on my skin. I had considered doing all the trails today, but then thought I can do the tomorrow and not worry too much about it, so I didn’t do both of them, just the other one. In doing this one, I was able to come out directly in front of the lake and it was sight to behold! Very lovely, peaceful and not totally full of people yet, though, there were a lot of them with fishing rods getting out of vehicles when I was getting closer to the parking lot. For the return run down the mountain again, I was able to run further with fewer walking breaks so I am feeling pretty good about improving this last week. I will likely always want to get back to where I was the first year I was running and was able to run regularly with Vanessa, my best friend who was the one who actually got me into running in the first place. I am still working on that, but, having someone who is faster than you are is such wonderful way to get to hang with a friend and actually see improvements in running. I discovered this round was nearly .75 miles shorter in distance than the day prior.
This morning, I was out of the house an hour later than yesterday. I was shocked at how long it took me to get ready, but, it was alright. I was feeling good and I was thinking, since I was able to get a walk in with Vanessa yesterday, I would do the same route again this morning with the dog, but the moment we got outside, she beelined to the car and stood there and then jumped around all nimbly bimbly like around in circles to let me know she wanted to take the car and go for a run. So, I walked back in to get my keys and my wallet and let my husband know where we were going to go run. I decided that for today, I this Memorial Day, I would take the outlook trail and do a few laps around it. I was thinking three laps would be close to three miles, so that would be alright for today.
Now, this weekend, my husband has been watching the HBO series Band of Brothers. I have seen some of this, a few of the episodes and I am in tears each time I watch it. I thought about this movie. But I thought more about the people in the war itself. I thought about what it meant to give a life for the country we live in. A place that I, and 380 million other people call home. Not everyone will care about it, not everyone will think more about today than a day off, and certainly not everyone will have ever signed a contract up to and including your life. There magnitude of what that is was not lost on me today as I watched the wind move the tree tops of the forest below me.
Many stories of these young men and women who died in battle are not forgotten. At some point, Hollywood decided that we need to keep these stories alive and so they started making movies about the men and women who were in those places and those battles. Many died in these stories and only a survivor can really understand what it’s like to live through combat. Being a veteran myself, I remember the stories of the ships and our country’s naval history. I tear up when I think of some of the tragedies of war and how so many die. It’s mind-blowing and shocking and sad and the emotion is so great that I feel about it, it leaks out of my eyes when I put a lot of thought into it. One story that I honor and cherish is the story of 5 brothers, The Sullivans. If you haven’t heard about them, it’s likely because there isn’t a movie that was made about them, however, they are mentioned in the very beginning of the movie Saving Private Ryan.
The story goes that before the United States got into the war, 2 of the 5 brothers had already been discharged and once the war started, they enlisted on the agreement that they all serve together on the same ship. The ship was sunk. You can read about it here.
I thought of my time on my ship when I was able to have my little sister on board with me. I remember thinking how lucky we had been, and how different things would have been if we had done the buddy program. I thought about the last remaining Sullivan brother, George, who had lived for four or five days after his four younger brothers had perished in the sea. I cannot pretend to know the depth of pain and anguish that he must have felt before he slipped into the blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, and let the sea take him. I cannot even fathom what their parents felt in the aftermath. I thought of the men who watched in combat their friends die in front of them, I thought of the many men who came back, but, didn’t make it long afterwards, for a war never settled in them. I thought of a man I know who went to see The Wall Memorial for the first time. He had served in Vietnam and this would be the likely to be the only time he would see it. The tears welled in my eyes and the trail, thankfully was an easy one today.
I hope that the country that so many died trying to protect will one day know the profoundness of what Memorial Day truly is. Only 10% of the population will ever sign that contract. And of those 10%, only 8% will serve in active duty or reserves. Today is not a day to thank a veteran for their service, today is a day to remember those who never came back. A day to remember those who signed a contract saying up to and including my life and the contract with fulfilled with that life. I hope their lives weren’t cut short in vain.
The run ended and my thoughts were a little less cluttered, and my face a little more tear stained. I know I had set out with a goal for this run, but to be honest, I can’t really tell you, dear reader, if I accomplished that goal in the least. It wasn’t as important as other things on my mind.
Next weekend I shall travel to San Diego and run with my little sister in a relay. I haven’t done that since we were in high school. I am really looking forward to it. I bought new socks for the occasion 🙂 Lexi didn’t understand why nothing actually matched. I told her because nothing matched neon so you just go with whatever. Anyhow, time to get moving on dinner. I’m famished!
The Morning High Runner 