running thoughts

Woke up this morning to proper autumnal weather, the weirdly mild and sunny Indian summer apparently over, the day dank and windy. I'll run my familiar towpath run today between the Kingston and Hampton Court bridges and in one important way it won't be familiar at all. Changes in the weather change the atmosphere and mood of the run; the ambient light, the sound of the wind in the trees, the texture of the water as the river surface is smoothed or coarsened. Every day it is different, sometimes subtly, sometimes wildly. I'm incredibly fortunate to have somewhere so beautiful to run more or less on my doorstep. Today it will be wet and gray and because of the weather, quiet too. Aggressive off-road cyclists can be a bit of a towpath hazard at the weekend but the threat of rain generally puts most of them off.
Runners seem to divide into two distinct types. There are those who smile and nod in acknowledgement of shared ritual and pain. And there are those with white buds in their ears, cocooned and oblivious,heads full of whatever music inspires them to keep moving. I'm in the former category. If you are lucky enough to be running somewhere so beautiful, why not engage with what surrounds you?