Exquisite quiet

Ran my 142nd mile today. My Belgian running partner and I promised each other to be ready to race together in May. I miss him. There is something so incredibly raw and real and intimate about pushing yourself so hard WITH someone. We have collapsed in the grass at the end of particularly brutal runs, have hurt. We've pushed to outer limits, gone beyond them, but we did it together and I miss having someone to do that with once a week. Anyway, I will fly to Belgium in May and we'll have a race together. So I recognized that I now have to start training harder and longer, beyond the slow steady accumulation of miles for miles sake. I did a good hard, long one today, and got to touch that exquisite quiet that my mind finds when I run for an hour or more. I tend to think obsessively, and after a run like that, I can't even force myself to go to the subjects that bother me. They simply cannot exist for me and it is so peaceful. I can't wait for less ice on the roads and sidewalks so I can go outside more. Running is always powerful, but running outside is a religious experience.