Day 14 = Running + Mesa

I often run along a street in Austin called Mesa Drive. It's 3.7 miles of hilly road. I see runners here regularly. Today was one of those days when I was out running and saw other runners who I would say 9 times out of 10 look at you and smile. And they sometimes wave. Sometimes it's a group of runners. Sometimes all men. Sometimes all women. Some with dogs or pushing babies in a jogger stroller. Sometimes just another lone runner like me. And they are all ages. And sometimes you can smell the runners when they go by - like a man's aftershave or body wash or a woman's perfume. And there's the occasional body odor, but I just hold my breath when those stanky-asses run by.

Runners are just happier people. I mean, you're out there running. You're moving. You're enjoying the great outdoors - even if you're running along a suburban street with deer grazing in yards.

There's something to be said about a "runner's high." I haven't really been affected like that in several years - probably not since the first time I ran 6 miles straight, which was sometime during 2004 in Memorial Park in Houston. That's the only time I remember the high hitting me like a ton of bricks, and it was then that I "got it." I got running. I got the feeling.

Since then, I wouldn't say I've been chasing that high, but the effects of running are still significant in my life. I feel better. I think more clearly. And I just smile more.