Perspective

All of my current running routes start in the middle of a long straight (2km) and continue along the perimeter of our little town, with some deviations for the longer runs. Just out of habit I always run these routes counterclockwise, but the wind was so strong today and exactly in the direction of that long straight that it simply made no sense to run 2 kilometers against it.
Just the simple act of running in the other direction dramatically changed this run. All of my references were gone, and I realized how important it is to know the route you run on. Yes I had the Garmin and I knew exactly how long I had already done and how long I still had to do, but I found out that the running brain is much more content with real objects rather than with abstract numbers. You get a kick when you see the finish line, not when you know it's half a mile away. Point taken: study the course of my marathon very well, not just look at it once.
Other than this, the very familiar roads seemed very new when seen "in reverse", and I even discovered that from a certain point of my route you can see all of the landmarks of this town: the church bell tower, the windmill and, towering above them all... the radio antenna of the police station. I know... romantic, isn't it?