On the road again...and again.

A classic novel you've likely never heard of was reissued this month. John L. Parker Jr.'s "Once A Runner" was first published in 1978. Whenever someone asks me why I run, what running does for me, or anything in that vein, I direct them to "Once A Runner." It answers those questions in ways I never could.

The problem, until this month, is "Once A Runner" was almost impossible to locate. It was reprinted a few times over the years, but was generally only found on eBay (for upwards of $200) or in too few public libraries. (My autographed copy is currently in the hands of a friend, if his baby girl hasn't eaten it yet.)

Anyway, I was thinking about the book on Sunday morning. It was one of those mornings when I really wasn't sure I wanted to go out to run. It'd been pouring rain all night and while the downpour had lessened to a sprinkle, it looked like it could start gushing again at any time. And I was a bit sore from Saturday's 5K race. But when you've been running as long as I have, you tend to find those kind of mornings can turn into the best kind. I could probably count on one hand the number of times I've stayed in on a morning like that. So off I went.

As has happened so many times before, it turned into a special run. The weather had scared everyone else into staying inside, so I had the roads and trails to myself. The race soreness faded away and I settled into the kind of groove that makes me love running so much. Here's what happens during those grooves...

Time and distance don't seem to matter. Both simply pass by without much thought. Nothing hurts. You breathe the same way you would while walking down a grocery store aisle. It all seems absolutely effortless. You can only hope you don't notice the groove. Because once you notice it, you start wondering when it will go away. It almost always goes away.

And that brings me to how running is a lot like golf. The average golfer hits a lot of balls into the rough, the sand, the water, even neighboring homes. It's so frustrating that a lot of golfers quit. The ones who keep at it do so because every so often you hit the perfect shot. It feels so good that you can't wait to do it again. So you persist through the sand balls and the water balls and the house balls. All because there's a chance the next shot will be THE shot.

That's how running is for me. I have days where it's a major chore to complete just a few miles. On those days I can't help wondering why in the world I do it. I have other days where running isn't spectacular, but it's a fine way to fritter an hour away. And then I have those special days when the groove happens. And it's a feeling you wish you could bottle up because everyone in the world would want to buy it. That's what Sunday was like.

Of course, Monday's run was average. Today's run was just so-so. But there's always the chance tomorrow will be special. And that's one of the reasons I run.