I am participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge: A slice a day for all of March.  You should do it too! Check it out here. Thank you,  Two Writing Teachers! 

I know I’ve had a good workout when the soreness starts later that night, and gets worse as the next day goes on. I know I’ve had a really good workout when my friend is also sore enough to text me about it.

I also knew I needed to exercise through the sore. So I whined about it most of the day, trying to figure out what kind of exercise would be the least painful. (I knew for sure I wasn’t doing squats today, for instance!) I finally decided to go on a walk. The snow had stopped, and the temperature was holding steady at a balmy 32 degrees. So I grabbed my sneakers, my fleece and my trusty iphone  and made my way outside for a brisk walk.

Don’t tell anyone, but there is something about the chilly smell of late afternoon to evening around here. I don’t know what it is: burning leaves, or wood, or ??? Whatever that amazing burning charcoal cozy smell is that permeates my neighborhood in the late afternoon and evening makes me want to go on a run. I’m sure this is because I started my running life* by going out after my children were asleep in the middle of a winter not too long ago. So I took a deep breath, turned up the tunes, and I ran.

As I ran, I was trying to capture the run through my neighborhood . . .

I run

Smell of fire smoke
cozy warmth mingles with 
brisk snowy wind
Music fills my ears
so I don't hear my own breathing
I'm sure this makes me 
less
of a 
runner
I feel my feet hit the ground 
and I get lost in thinking
and smelling
and feeling the cold air on my face
but not so lost
that I don't keep checking my phone
to see how fast 
how slow 
I am going

* “running life”  is a laughable expression for sure, since my running life is slow and short, and not at all worth bragging about!