Going Downhill

So, after my three mile run last week I was what one would call less than enthusiastic about heading out to run five miles on Sunday morning.  There are so many other things that I would rather be doing.   Quite frankly, there are a lot of things that I typically don’t like doing that sounded better to me than going for a run  (Washing dishes, doing laundry, etc.)  But, I went anyway.  

It had rained here on Sunday morning and there was still some cloud cover.   As those of you who previously followed my blog know, I do not like running in the rain.   That was motivation for getting out the door, -- getting the run in before it started again.  

I started off on my usual route, which is a gentle incline heading up into Bronson Canyon Park.  At the entrance to the park the incline steepens, then a little further up it steepens again.   That is exactly the point I decided to turn around.    If I turned around and went straight home I would have only run four miles on a day when I committed to five.  (Trust me, I was doing my best to inch my arm out as far as possible to get the most mileage on my MapMyRun app.   I think I managed to turn my 2.0 distance into 2.03).   After my turn around, the run is actually quite pleasant, -- what goes up must come down.   Which leads me to this…. I love running downhill.    In fact, everything is better going downhill.  People sled down hills, they ski downhills, a variety of different things roll down hills.    “Rolling” just sounds fun.   Everything is better down hill.   In fact, if we could all go downhill all the time the world would be a happier place.   Why then when we talk about getting older or getting sick do we talk about life going downhill?  As my toddler would say:  that doesn’t make any sense.  

I eventually reached the flatlands again and did a loop before heading back to my house, putting in that last mile (okay, it was only .85 of a mile).   In and of themselves, the flat lands aren’t good and they aren’t bad.   But, the whole time I kept thinking to myself, “dang, I wish I was going downhill!”   That’s not something you hear people say everyday!