The Hangover Run

There is always a split second when you awake after a heavy night which indicates how bad the day is going to be. This morning was one of those you come to recognise as painful. The kind where you denounce alcohol for good, swear you will never touch it again and wonder what you have done to deserve such a headache, nausea and fatigue.

Usually I can handle a decent amount of liquor without ill consequence, but for some reason it took me all day just to feel half decent, and that involved a long afternoon nap and a whole packet of crisps ('chips' for my Canadian friends).

Come 7:30pm I was just about ready to hit the road, feeling better, refreshed and hungry for exercise to sweat off the remaining remnants of last night's beer from my system. With the sun going down over False Creek it was glorious, euphoric, blissful and liberating. With Hillsong United playing in my ears and a spring in my stride it made me realise just how far I've come this year. The mountains in the background, the lapping waves of the Pacific and the reflecting sun in the windows of the skyscrapers epitomised the beauty of creation and the fluid mechanics of running.

So thankyou hangover, you may have ruined most of my day, but those 45 minutes of pure unadulterated praise made the endurance worthwhile.