eat the cookie, don't eat the cookie

Gilbert Tuhabonye came to our offices last week and went through some running drills. The one that brought the biggest smile to his face and therefore mine was eat the cookie, don't eat the cookie. "Those girls love their cookies" he said. "So I tell them bring your hand up to your mouth and say ' eat the cookie' and then take that cookie and throw it to the ground and say 'don't eat the cookie.' Then when you are done running you can eat the cookie. He also said you can pump your arms like you are chopping at your thighs "chop, chop, chop." Gilbert's enthusiasm was fabulous. He emphasized the importance of running for fun plain and simple. I've thought about it a lot. I haven't always been so gunghoo to go running and looking back, I am absolutely better for nurturing my love of running and letting it blossom.
Running is fun plain and simple and on some of my gloomiest days has brought the sunshine back into my mood. I look forward to my runs although sometimes I still get anxious before the long runs, I am still excited for the challenge and the sense of accomplishment afterward. Every run is fun, but some are extra special and leave my heart singing louder than normal. This is the type of feeling I love. Tuesday's run was full of fun run surprises. I had fun running by the soccer players and imagining I was swiping the ball and shooting a goal. I had fun watching the frisbee golfers playing and making and missing shots. I had fun running along the trail and then coming across an oriental rug laid out right in the middle of it and then using my imagination to come up with how it got there. I had fun rhyming with words that end in "one" with my friend Robby as we ran. I had fun hopping on a swing in a neighborhood triangle and then hopping back off and running again. I had fun sprinting hard (same feeling as biking hard down Great Northern, whee!) down a street with large oak trees reaching across to each other like two people playing London bridge. All this fun in one run, one day after work. Boy am I one lucky girl to have this in my life.