Kim, my dear friend and steadfast running companion, texted me before bed last Friday night to see if I wanted to run Hall Ranch the next morning. I replied “OK!” without even knowing what I was agreeing to! When I woke, I looked online to discover it was a 9.6 mile mountain run! “Well,” I thought to myself, “It’s a gorgeous day, I am a trail runner, and I’ve certainly run much farther than this before. I’m game!” But, once we got to the trailhead and looked at the map, we realized that the best route for running was actually on a trail that didn’t allow bikes — now resulting in an 11.6 mile run, starting at 5,421′ with a 1,490′ elevation gain! We nodded at each other and smiled, and then we were off…to spend the next three hours running, talking, looking in, breathing out, digging deep, letting go, and soaking up the beauty of the red rock and lush green brush backlit by Boulder’s crystal clear blue sky and sunshine. On our way home, we both bathed in the glory of being able to say “Yes” to life!  Lately, I have been immersed in thinking about joy — joy that I welcome, joy that I fear, joy that I don’t allow, joy that I chase — and on a run like yesterday’s, I am reminded that I am the keeper of my joy, and that all I have to do is say “Yes!” to invite it in…