Back to Running...

Today was the first day I went for a run for at least a month. Being on the Cambridge Diet meant no exercise (that does sound a little crazy in hindsight) and I just got out of the swing.

Something has been missing in me lately and it took me until today to click that it was running. I just felt...miserable. Sad, not as well equipped to cope with life. Weak, physically and mentally.

And tonight was a perfect reminder to me of what I 'get' from running. That is, time to think, time in nature, time out to appreciate life. I took the dog and as I began my run, I was entranced by how lovely the clouds looked after what has been a wet, wet day.

 

Since I last ran, the trees have started to turn. The Ashes are now a bright, luminous yellow.

 

 

Shamefully, I don't know what this tree is, but just the tips of the branches in the hedgerows are turning a beautiful fiery orange;

 

 

 

the sloes were bright but deep blue;

and the hips bright scarlet.

As I turned to come back, I was rewarded with this beautiful, breath-taking sunset. The most stunning pinks, purples and yellows, which came almost out of nowhere.

 

 

Part of the reason I have picked up blogging again is this - focussing my mind on appreciating things in life I might have missed. I have been reading a book about mindfulness lately and I really see the value in appreciating what you have, rather than looking out at what you don't.

 

So in the mindfulness spirit, I stood for a while in the field, just watching as the little dog sniffed about the trees. Birds were chattering in the hedgerows, settling down for the night, and a train slipped past in the distance. It was a lovely moment. And to think - I cold have been cooped up indoors, watching Eastenders!

 

Although it was only a couple of miles, it was a great re-introduction to running again - it felt good to be moving in that rhythm that my body just knows so well. It felt great to be hot, to be smelling the tang of wet leaves and the beginnings of decay in the air. I loved it!