Easy 4 mile shake out run

This morning I went for a brief, easy run, just to clean out my legs a bit from yesterday's long run.  I was pleased to discover that they felt fine really, not nearly as sore as I thought they'd be.  I attribute that to the fact that we were running on snow covered trails, so the pounding on my legs was greatly reduced.

Today was also only the second time in my life that I've ever ran with music.  I recently bought an ipod Nano to use for certain runs and really just to play with.  It's interesting, running with music.  I had always thought I'd hate it because I so enjoy letting my thoughts roll out at their own speed.  I had assumed that I was a bit more autonomous with regard to how these thoughts came to me, but now I realize that that wasn't the case.

What I've discovered is that any external stimulus can create and drive our thoughts, be it the beauty of an evergreen who's branches are dusted white with snow, or the smell of burning leaves in the autumn or even the music on my ipod.  All of this has the potential to be the starting point of a train of thought that may lead to something profound or important, or they may even just fizzle out quickly and, in turn, propagate new thoughts.

A fun discovery about the ipod is that so many of these songs, especially those from my younger days, have memories attached to them.  The first song that came on today was "Bigmouth Strikes Again" by the Smiths.  Great song!  That song made me think of high school and the days of discovering the Smiths and the very small circle of friends that loved that band too.

So now I've come to grips with being a runner with an ipod.  I'll wear my earbuds with pride!

"As the flames rose to my Norwegian nose and my ipod started to melt." *lyrics adjusted by me.