And Patriots' Day? That little town where I grew up was once part of Concord. I haven't really aspired to running the 26.2 miles from Hopkinton to Boston, but I have regularly walked the approximately seven miles to the Old North Bridge after gathering in our town center at daybreak. By the time we're home again, the Marathon is running and sometimes the elite runners are already crossing the finish line.
To think someone would want to spoil that, to cause such willful harm ... I just can't. The injuries I've heard reported are just horrifying. I will never understand the cowardice necessary to do something like this. On top of that, several of my friends remember that I'm a runner and know I live in the general vicinity of Boston, and at least one person was genuinely frightened for my safety yesterday. Although there wasn't any chance of my being there, the concern of my friends brought the events even closer ... and I do have friends and colleagues who were in Boston yesterday, and thankfully made it home safely.
So. Totally freaked and saddened though I am, the best I can do is to keep running and feel blessed that I have that opportunity. My goal hasn't changed, and I have plans to make progress this year. I'll keep updating this blog, albeit sporadically, as I go.
Here's what I've been doing lately:
I realize I let this blog's first birthday pass without fanfare, while in the midst of a long winter's nap of non-posting. Trust me when I say that I've been doing any followers out there a favor: during the winter, when conditions can be dark and icy and otherwise unappealing, I stay reasonably in shape for running by regularly doing a thirty-minute "free run" on Wii Fit Plus. For those not familiar, this means I hold the Wii remote and run in place, watching something else on TV or listening to the radio, for thirty minutes. There is no balance-board feedback, and the distance reported means absolutely nothing in relation to how far I typically run in thirty minutes on the road. In fact, there is really no reason why I need a Wii in order to do this, but I've tried just running in place while watching TV (or holding the TV remote), and I couldn't keep it up for more than ten minutes. "Free run" tells me when I have 15 minutes left, then 10, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 10 seconds ... and then plays a happy little fanfare and tells me I'm good. Apparently, I need this validation. My point is, though, that this would make for some very dull blog posts.
Now that it's spring, though, I've managed a few runs outdoors (which I've logged with RunKeeper but forgotten to update in DailyMile, which is why the widget hadn't changed until I finally got caught up after writing this post). I braved some near-freezing temperatures during my March break to get out in the daylight hours:
Smith College campus, about 8:45 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, end of a 3.16 mi run in 32:50. |
Monday, April 8, about 6:15 a.m., along Narragansett Parkway in Warwick. 3.00 mi in 27:26. |
And more like it, shown here on Gothamist. |
Even with everything that's happened this week, I'm excited for this race. My training times have been (a little) faster than ever, lately, and this will be the first race where all three members of my immediate family will be able to be there to cheer me on ... well, unless the current weather report is right and it rains, in which case they'll be cheering me on in spirit from a warm, dry location.
NY is number nine, and I will hit #10 this summer (possibly Vermont on July 20, if another one doesn't come up sooner). I'm going to keep at it, and be thankful that I can, and over time, I'll cross 50 finish lines in 50 states.
NY is number nine, and I will hit #10 this summer (possibly Vermont on July 20, if another one doesn't come up sooner). I'm going to keep at it, and be thankful that I can, and over time, I'll cross 50 finish lines in 50 states.
A lovely tribute to a horrible event and the importance of persisting in spite of it. Keep running, and have a great race on Saturday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lisa! I've been heartened to hear how many runners are even more determined to keep running after yesterday's events.
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