So last night I headed out for my run in the early evening. As it was looking quite overcast, I decided to go without my headphones to avoid their getting soaked (and presumably never working again) in a heavy down pour. I also changed up my running route, and headed out to, and then up, Main St. What makes this note-worthy, is that it was fairly warm and there were many people outside. My usual route takes me on less-walked and crowded areas containing less traffic of both the foot and car variety.
This particular route, I had taken in the past but it has been quite a while. It was interesting just to listen to the snippets of conversations, the tones of voice and different noises I could hear in the areas I ran through. My run took me by some normal retail areas (people discussing recent purchases), bus stops (people standing around pretending not to see each other), a park (kids running and screaming with joy), a basketball court (people talking smack and telling each other “nice job”), THAT side of town (people swearing and yelling at each other), and more.
The differences in areas, were not just in sounds however. I could also see the difference in the roads and surroundings in the various parts of Main St. In front of nicer stores, the sidewalk was clean, and very obviously swept regularly. Over by the railroad tracks, there was garbage and junk tossed to the sides. When I ran by bars and restaurants – there was a plethora of cigarette butts.
This was NOT the sort of woodpecker I heard.
It was not just the man-made items and sounds that made the run so enjoyable. I saw many different types of flowers in flower boxes outside of apartments. Over near the Railroad tracks, there were wildflowers and blooming trees. In different people’s yards – bright splashes of yellow showed the dandelion’s new existence (at least until the weed killer comes out.) I heard Woodpeckers, song birds and running water.
One of the things I love about running, is being in my own little world for a while. But sometimes, its fun to get all the glimpses and sounds of the other little worlds around you as well.
I run, because I am a runner. Having realized that I have always "been a runner" - even when I went years with out running, I am learning how it has integrated itself in all aspects of my life. When I started running in highschool, my perspective on life changed. Funny that I didn't realize how much it had affected it until just recently.
Once and Future Runner 
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