by Melissa Ellis
I ran until I found a balloon.
It was floating by and the string dangled lazily across the sky. I thought it might get tangled on the trees close to the road, but it floated just above the tree line and skimmed across them to continue on its way. I smiled and turned around.
This will be my year, I thought. For one year, my runs would be marked by the finding of the ordinary and the special of the things I saw on my run.
Holly Chisolm/Unsplash
When the balloon went across the sky and simply made me pause and turn around, my breath and muscles were just at the halfway point I needed. I was not searching for a new best time, I was not aiming for a goal on my training plan, and I would certainly not say I had previously marked the path. I just got a smile and turned around.
This will be my year to find the beauty and life that is around me while I run. I will re-discover the simplicity of it all. That is why I lace up to begin with.
I hope to find someone selling ice cream. I am going to run with a friend. I am going to run while I laugh. I will run until I find a donut shop. I am going to run with my kids. I am going to start a run and end up walking. I am going to run in a field and roll down a hill. I am going to run to my favourite song. I am going to run wearing really cool glasses. Maybe there will be some more surprises for me, but I do not know them yet and honestly, that is the best part.