Time To Put The Headphones On!

I've been running again lately. Running had been a big part of my life routine since the 6th grade. It wasn't always a great part of my life. Running in college took away a lot of the childlike fun of it away from me. I finally took a break from it the past two years. It's taken awhile for running to be mine again. For it to be a place of strength and calm and not frustration and anger.

Even now that I'm "running again", it doesn't mean I love it everyday. I think it's a misunderstanding that "runners" alway love getting out there. I might have one great run every week, where I love every step. The other days are just training so I can run farther on that day I love. Seattle has some of the most beautiful running loops so I'd be lying if I denied enjoying it just a little everyday. At least by the end. I always see something I would have missed if I hadn't pushed myself out the door. It's such a big part of what I love about where I'm living that I think it needs a special place on One Rainy Day. Introducing "Things I Saw When I Was Running Today". I'll come up with something better.


Yesterday I went on one of my favorite loops. I can see the water almost the entire run, and even get to finish up on some trails in Schmidt Park. In the first neighborhood I run through there is a street on the edge of a cliff that overlooks the bay and it's crawling with stray cats. Every sunny day I run there I'm bound to see some collarless cat lounging in strip of grass between the road and sidewalk. Yesterday when I passed through a cat jumped out from behind a telephone poll. As if she'd been waiting for me. She ran beside me like a puppy. Of course I had to stop. After petting her I started to run again, sure enough she started to run next to me. I named her Sylvia in my head. And wondered if that made me some kind of suburban grizzly man (cat lady, I guess). The cats on this cliff are like wild animals. I can picture them making their escapes from the homes they came from. Dreaming of the cliff where cats run free. So if your cat has gone missing, you might want to check out Sunset Avenue in West Seattle. If you don't find yours I'm sure you'll find one you'll like to adopt.

After leaving Sylvia I ran down to the Alki trail. The crowds are thinning now that the days are cooler. In the evenings I usually see little seals swimming along the shore looking for dinner. Their sleek backs catching the sunlight as they dive down. It's wonderful how the same place can be so different every day. The same running loop is completely new each time I run it. Which, along with my ipod, is really the only motivation I need to get out there... even when I really don't want to.