I am running

It's 5am and I'm out the door. I am running. The little aches and pains I felt when I woke up are gone. Everything is beautiful and nothing hurts.

I am not running against anyone else. I am not running against the clock. I am not even running against myself. I don't do that anymore.

I am running with Rihanna and Nirvana, Queen and Sir Mix A Lot, and Old Dirty Bastard. I am laughing. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard on a run. I am listening to Steven's iPod, which as it turns out, is a combination of every running playlist I have ever made. I am laughing at the lyrics and at the memories the songs evoke. Nelly Furtado's "Promiscuous Girl" comes on and I remember signing this song with Pete in the car on our way to the Adirondacks last year. I am still smiling but now also a bit teary eyed.

I am stopped abruptly at an intersection so as to avoid colliding with a turning car whose driver is oblivious to my presence. This does not make me feel annoyed or unsafe. It makes me feel like a ninja.

I am running through the sunrise, through the streets, through the doubts.

I am running because I love it. Because it's my favorite way to start the day. Because my favorite way to experience life is exploring it on my own two feet.

I am not running away. I am running towards. Towards the happiest, most awesome version of myself. Towards home. This year home is a date in November, the date when Pete returns. Towards that moment in every stride when both feet are off the ground and I am airborne.

I am running.

For a brief moment I am flying.

Lyric of the moment: "The quicker you here, the faster you go. That's why where I come from the only thing we know is work hard, play hard, work hard, play hard..." ~Wiz Khalifa "Work Hard Play Hard"