I ran my usual route today… the first half is always up hills… and this morning it was into the wind.  It was tough going.  Eyes down, head down, legs and arms pumping … a lot of effort to go very slowly.  I kept going… eyes down, head down, little steps… moving forward.

 

As the hills started to ease off, I picked up the pace.. pushed harder against the wind.  Eyes down, head down, grimacing..   At one point I did have to stop, crippling stitch – I must have forgotten to breathe…

 

But as I turned the corner of the circuit, the wind changed direction and started to push me forward… I eased off… let my legs find their flow..  Eyes up, heads up… free flow running, coasting along the flat and the gentle hill down back towards home… Appreciating the blue sky, fluffy clouds racing, new bursts of daffodil yellow…

 

The last few weeks, months have felt like my run today… an uphill battle to get through, a crippling pain to remind me to breathe.

 

Today, it felt as though I just turned the corner… I can breathe freely, I can lift my head, eyes up, face forward…

 

It’s time for free flow.  It is time to coast.

 

It is time to look up and appreciate the life around me… The Big Man on the sofa next to me on a Monday night, Tom skipping down the corridor ‘Daddy isn’t going to London!’, Willy sat at the top of the stairs at 9pm quietly ‘doing his numbers’….

 

It’s time to breathe a sigh of relief.