Running Like the Wind

I've never been a runner.  There was a time in my youth when I enjoyed running short sprints, but long distance...never.  Every forced attempt at running would inevitably result in intense side aches, nausea and pain...especially, in later years, pain in my knee.  Saying that I've despised running is truly an understatement.

In 7th grade I went out for Track and Field with the intention of being a sprinter.  During the entire season, there was not one day at practice in which I was able to run the 1-2 mile warm-up without both feeling sick and having to walk a large portion of the distance.  I begged my mom, with no success, to let me quit, as I found my daily track practice to be unbearably torturous.  And do you remember when we had to run the dreaded mile in PE for fitness testing?  In 8th grade I actually ended up in the nurses office afterward because I believed myself so sick from the experience. 

On the flip side, I've been having a recurring dream for a number of years in which I can run like the wind.  I can run fast and endlessly.  I have intense strength and endurance.  When I run I almost feel as though I'm bounding across the sky on clouds.  It's pure bliss.  I feel like I've broken out of stifling confines that I didn't even realize I had only to have finally discovered complete joy and freedom.  (Is this what a runner's high feels like?  I want one!) 

I wonder what this dream means in my life.  Recurring dreams most certainly recur for a reason.  Is the message figurative or literal?

This entire train of thought occurred after my trip to the gym today.  I decided to forego my typical time on the elliptical in favor of the treadmill.  I was intending on walking and just doing a few short stints of running to get my heart rate up.  The crazy thing that happened is that after I started running (as slowly as one can possibly run, I might add) I didn't feel like I needed to stop.  I never got a side ache, I didn't feel nauseous, my knee didn't hurt.  I certainly didn't feel fabulous, however.  My calves burned and my hip wasn't particularily into it, though not completely against it, either. The miracle here is that I actually ran two miles without stopping!  I'm pretty sure that's the first time in my entire life I've ever done that.  It felt great...except for the vertigo I felt when I got off the treadmill, of course.

I wonder if I'll find a love for running which mirrors that of my dreams.  Or, will the blissful feelings of strength and endurance manifest in some other form.  I guess we'll start by seeing how my hip feels tomorrow.  :)