Yoga, running in the rain, and the Time Traveler's Wife

You all are probably wondering what in the heck is up with this title? Well, let me tell you...
You see in Yoga there are times when the instuctor tells you to be in the present. You see she wants you to clear your mind, and focus on being right there in that moment. Not the past, not the future, but in the here and now. I will admit that I have a tiny little problem with clearing my mind during yoga. I have too much running through, like 'am I doing this right', 'who smells', 'oh, I hope it is not me that smells.' You know just thoughts. And, even when we are supposed to be meditating in shivasna (have no idea if that is the correct spelling) I sometimes find myself thinking of shopping lists, dinner, work.
But, last night while running in the rain, I had a mini-revelation while thinking about the book 'The Time Traveler's Wife.' Of course the basis of the book is a time traveler who travels to the past and future, he doesn't have much control over his traveling, and he travels more during stressful times in his life. The reason the book even came to me is I was thinking about a scene in the book where the Time Traveler's soon to be wife is worried because it is raining on her wedding day, and she is wondering if he will be able to get out and run. Of course, since he is a hard core runner, like yours truly, he gets out in the pouring rain and runs. He runs because that is what helps him stay in the present. For some reason running grounds him, and he doesn't do as much traveling. Maybe that is because Mr. Time Traveler, like me, doesn't have much trouble focusing on his breath, the sound of his feet, and letting his mind go blank when he runs. I find it to be a tremendous stress reliever, also. Obviously, during this time I was thinking about this, I wasn't letting my mind go! But, I do know that some of the best runs that I have are the times when I get out there and the miles just seem to tick off, the time passes, and I am lolled into a meditative state. It is one of those few times I get what the yoga teacher is trying to tell us about being present in the moment. Maybe this is what some call the 'Runners' High.' But, I think it is just having a high state of being in the present, and in touch with your body. And, I know that during those times the stress simply melts out of my body, and I only focus on my breath, and the powerful feeling of only being present in that moment.