I Need to Learn to Run Like My Dogs

Today it was a chilly 22 degrees when the pups and I hit the trail for a short run. My ankle is still pretty sore and last night was leg night at the gym, so I was not really feeling it today. But I plodded along anyway; no music today, just trying to concentrate on high cadence and hip extension to limit my time on the ground with each step. Then I got lost in watching the dogs as they ran along. Brando never more than 20 feet away from me, Emmylou romping wildly through the woods and coming back to check on us every now and then. Then it hit me. They don't look any further than the next place their feet are going to land. There is no worry about what comes next on the trail or what comes next in the day. They are present and living in the RIGHT NOW. I am running along with 25 other thoughts going through my mind: work, things to do at home before work, things to do at home after work, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. So for as long as my "monkey mind" would let me, I just shut out everything and felt every step, in the NOW. It lasted for about a quarter mile but it felt GOOD! I've found a new goal in my running. To run in the NOW. Sometimes a frontal lobe and opposable thumbs simply get in the way of just being and enjoying each moment as it comes.