Tear

All in all and I'm
Loving every rise and fall
The sun will make and I will take
Breath to be sure of this
In the end and then
All will be forgiven when
Surrender rises high and I
Gave what I came to give

Say it now because you never know
Oh, never know
-"Tear" Red Hot Chili Peppers

(I have been on a huge Red Hot Chili Peppers kick, y'all.)


Today, during a break-out at work, a leadership coach talked about a concept that most athletes are familiar with - the idea that during (successful) weight lifting, you tear muscle fibers in the proper way so that they strengthen over time.  Giving your body an appropriate amount of rest between training sessions is critical to long-term strength training. 

I'm half-inclined to believe this same concept applies to us in our everyday lives.

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The days have lengthened to the place where a run started at 5:30 is not begun in total darkness.

A warm front moved in today, bringing gusting winds, significantly warmer temperatures, and light rain. I wore shorts comfortably tonight as I pounded the pavement.

I plugged up my ears with thumping electronic music as I set out and immediately settled into my half-marathon race pace.  My yellow highlighter shirt glowed in the green tinged twilight. I ran my neighborhood loops with determination - my left shoulder started hurting (bugger off, shoulder), my right side stitched (buck up, abs), but my right calf held strong (hallelujah, leg). After two miles, the hollering parts of me quieted. I breathed hard, relishing the strain, the feeling of tearing, of my thoughts breaking apart like ice floes to float across a quiet polar sea.