Still Stumbling, 18 Months Later

Obviously it has been a long time since I last posted on this blog. When I posted back in August 0f 2007, I had just quit teaching. Never did I suspect that 18 months later I would be where I am now... with markers neither as grand nor depressing as they could have been. Perhaps in the posts to come, I will write more about the experiences and memories of these last days. Some fantastic stories lie within.

But, for now, I will use this as a log as I continue to stumble through a path uncertain when everything inside of me tells me that I should be more defined. To keep me rooted (and writing), my base will be my training. I have signed up for the Cherry Blossom Run in Washington, DC. It's a ten miler, about eight miles longer than I actually enjoy running.

To be fair, to myself and you, my readers, I have completed races before. In the last six years, I have participated in three or four, including two half-marathons. After each one, coincidentally, I swore off running completely. The idea of the race is always better than the actual preparation... and because the idea has a half-minute shelf life, the race is never as fun as it could be. I have always finished the races I entered, but never with great times or particular grace. I get the medal... and that's about it.

Today, on the promise of a delicious brunch of salmon eggs benedict and freshly squeezed orange juice, I completed the 5 mile Celtic Soltice Run in Baltimore... It deserves an entry to itself, as it went against several conditions I once held about running. I never would have signed up for the race if it weren't for Stephanie. She is a force to be reckoned with, my current 'supporter housing' and one of my closest friends. Steph loves to run, and so I grudgingly have been running too...

The race was OK. I completed it and the hills that went with it. I didn't finish last.

My goal for the Cherry Blossom--I want to say I ran it. I have used 'completed' to describe every race because I always end up walking. Like I said, I hate the preparation so I am never quite as ready as I should be. I am well aware of what my body can handle. I have yet to be excited or to be part of the numbered crowd on race day--I know it will be painful. In the past, regardless of distance, I find my comfort zone is to run around 70% of it and avoid finishing last. I always knew I could have done better. The Cherry Blossom I want to run.

I'm slow and out of shape (more discussions about that later). My goal for my time is 100 minutes. 10 minute running miles and ready in 15 weeks.