How Running Makes Me Smile!
In response to Dancing Elephants prompt 2 of 52
“Running is my meditation in motion: one smile, stride, and breath at a time.” — Carmen Micsa
Sunglasses on, running down the trail while whipping the hot October air with my flapping ponytail, I do my second run of the day, even though I had already run 8 miles in the morning.
On a Wednesday afternoon, my daughter and her cross-country team were training on the hills, so I decided to join in the roller coaster fun, as I like to call my hilly runs.
The afternoon sun baked my skin, reminding me that summer would not curtsy to fall yet. Not falling for its levitating leaves either because it still had a little fire left in its belly.
As I ran ahead of my daughter’s high school team, I was surprised how strong I felt despite the dry heat and the beads of sweat that formed underneath my armpits.
The hills brought smiles through all my miles
“The bottom line is that running keeps you younger, at least in terms of energy efficiency.” — University of Colorado Associate Professor Rodger Kram, a co-author on the study, in a written release.
The famous hill on Pennsylvania Street loomed ahead, but I conquered it steadily. As I ran to the stop sign on Pennsylvania Street and made a left on Magnolia, my favorite street, due to its undulating hills and the house with the skeleton clad in a witch outfit mounted on top of the metal decorative bike, the two fastest boys on the team caught up with me.
I put up a big surge to hang on with them for a few minutes. We greeted each other. I told them that I was Sophia’s mom, after which the boys glided on the hills in smooth strides as if they were surfing on top of the most perfect waves.
I climbed on Minnesota hill and came down to complete the loop before heading down the steep and long hills. I felt really thirsty, so I made a quick stop in front of a house, where a lady was watering her plants.
“Honey, would you like some water?” the lady with perfectly coifed silver hair asked me.
“No, thank you,” I replied. “I’m OK.”
“And which high school are you with, my dear?” she continued.
“I’m actually one of the moms,” I replied smiling. “My daughter is running with her high school up here every Wednesday,” I added.
The woman smiled big. I smiled even bigger and wider than my 12 miles that I had run that day once I realized that running made me 34 years younger.
What a day and what unforgettable story that will keep me smiling and hopefully running for years to come!
Thank you for the great prompt on smiling Dr. Preeti Singh. It put a smile on my face while running and writing about this true story.
For more poetic musings and short-form philosophy, please check out my new book, Morsels of Love, A Book of Poetry and Short-Form published last year. You can also order directly from my website www.carmenmicsabooks.com to receive an autographed copy.
If you like podcasts, please listen to my new podcast Seeds of Sunshine, a multigenerational podcast that I started together with my daughter.
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