Paradigm shift

I have been running 2-4 times a week for about 22 months now. The longest stretch of time I went between runs was 10 days last spring when I was quite sick with a bad cold/cough. Even through both winters I have made sure to run at least ONCE a week outside rather than on my treadmill. One evening a few weeks ago it had been snowing and was dusky and getting dark when I hit the trail running. I forgot my waterproof baseball cap and just had my earmuffs on to keep my ears warm. I was running west, with the wind, enjoying the absolute aloneness and stillness as I followed a set of tracks in the snow of another runner. By the stride length and shoe size I guessed the runner was probably a tall man. As I followed his prints in the snow, I noticed them going and coming back. The snow continued to come down and as I reached my turn around point of 2 miles out, his "going" tracks kept going and were getting fainter, but his "coming back" tracks were still visible. I turned around and started the run back to my car and soon realized how nice it had been to have the wind at my back. It was now in my face! And so was all the snow! So I tucked my chin down, kept my eyes on the tracks in the snow and "made a run for it". The funny thing was that not only were his tracks being obliterated but mine were as well. I wasn't cold, but my jacket and fleece tights were getting soaked, as was my hair and gloves. But my feet were toasty warm in my wool socks:) *Sigh*

As I got closer to the end of the trail and the darkness and snow were pretty well upon me, I realized once again how much FUN I was having! And that's when I felt the shift...

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." ~ John Bingham~

I have, up to this point, felt reluctant to call myself a "runner". I have always felt that I have not made the proper accomplishments, did not have a plethora of the right shoes (although I am working on that) or put enough time into it. After coming across the above quote recently, I have decided that Mr. Bingham is right. I just needed a shift in my self-perception. The run in the dark and the snow helped with that:) If you are looking for a paradigm, you might find one out on the canal road trail west of Weber High School...