Running in just spring

            In just spring I want to get into better running shape but the world is so often puddle wonderful and I don’t want to go out because I get wet and I wear glasses and I’m rendered blind with them or without them. But then if I don’t run I just become a little lame balloon man that is overweight and out of shape and I can’t even walk and when eddieandbill come running from marbles they pass me by and whistle far and whee…

            e e cummings is a favorite poet of mine and I felt compelled to honor his poem “In Just” while I write about running. I’m not sure my running issues fall too in line with that poem but in some ways they do. Certainly I am tempted to just run away from running—to not do it (and in my interpretation the little lame balloon man is a sort of devil tempting the children into some sort of perdition). When I am out of shape running becomes hard. Spring rains are more-often-than-not cold and that can just add to the misery of out of shape running. And I do wear glasses so I can’t really see much when I’m running in the rain. Of course I can wear a hat with a bill to keep the water off my glasses and, of course, I do. But then I am forced to duck my head so that I still see nothing very clearly. To not run is a huge temptation.

            So in just spring I find running to be very labor intensive and I am not the dedicated young man I once was who seldom missed my run. But I still love the affect it has on my body, making me thinner, keeping my blood pressure low, and keeping those second guesses about hard work at bay. So while aging has made so many things in life much easier (teaching, speaking, reading, socializing, etc.) running is definitely not one of them. But the benefits are still outweighing the downside so I will continue to make myself lace up those trainers, throw on a water resistant jacket and a billed cap and go out and run in just spring when the world is mudlucious.