30

In seven short minutes, it will be April 22, 2013 and I will turn thirty years old.

I've just arrived back in NC after a long weekend at home in St. Louis where I was pampered, fed, and toasted more times that I can count.

(I have a really amazing family. I can't thank them enough for the outpouring of love this weekend.)

Being in St. Louis, I also made sure to, once again, visit Queeny Park. I intended to run there each of my four days, however Mother Nature had some other plans. I landed early Thursday morning amid a torrential downpour that literally lasted all day. I had to avoid the park Friday because I was unsure of the trail conditions. But Saturday dawned bright and blue.

I ran the Hawk Ridge Trail, the path I cut my running chops on. I ran it, admiring the work and care the staff have put into the trail the past several years. I ran it smiling, loving the rich green of the rolling grassy hills.

Spring in St. Louis is beautiful.

I returned early Sunday afternoon, with a non-specific agenda. I knew I wanted to run the trails, as many of them as I could, and cover some distance.

So, much like 15 years ago, I simply headed out the door.

I let my feet carry me over gravel that I explored first cycling, then walking, then running. For the first time in a long time, my thoughts quieted almost instantly. They were there, they were rambling, but they murmured considerately. My head felt spacious.

I smiled at all of the folks I ran past. I admired the equestrians. I ran up and down hills, following the rolling ravines that is Queeny Park.

I thought, again, about how grateful I am to have been able to finding running and to have stayed healthy enough to continue with it all of these years.

I thought about how no matter what I bring to running, what I release through my feet into the ground and through my mouth into the air, I always walk away better for it. I always feel expanded. Broadened.

It is now 12:21 am and I can celebrate being on this earth for three decades.

Here's to many, many more.