June 22, 2010

Castle Island


I had a horrible run over the weekend, which sucked because I was so excited about my 8 mile run I had done just a day or two before. My body just felt like it was shutting down, and 3 miles in I was just destroyed. It was a big mental setback for me, and I've been in this negative mindset about my half marathon ever since.

And then my friend Cat and I decided to go running last night. We decided to go run around Castle Island right at sunset. Castle Island is this gorgeous 2 mile loop around a bay with boardwalks and excellent people watching, right on the beach. We agreed to do the loop twice for a quick 4 mile run. And by quick, I mean quick. Cat and I are both doing the half marathon together this coming Sunday, and we've been training for it now together for months. She is a much faster runner than I am, but it evens out because I am faster on the hills (our half marathon course is super hilly, so our strides even out).

Last night I was able to keep up with her for the first 2.5 miles, which is impressive. I knew I wouldn't be able to keep that pace for another 1.5, but I did push myself to run much faster than I normally do. Running, full out running, around Castle Island is really fun. You feel free and like everyone is watching you as you sprint by. It was a big rush for me, personally, and when I got back to the car after my final loop, I felt fantastic; I felt like I could run another loop around the Island.

Cat's great like that. She pushes me and challenges me in many different ways. Running really is a love-hate relationship, but it's so much easier to stay with the love aspect of it when you find someone to run with. Cat truly is my running buddy, and I couldn't be happier to be going through this experience with her. I know Sunday might feel like a death march, but I know we're going to make it fun. We're going to do 13.1 because we can, and when it's over, there's no else I'd rather exchange a huge sweaty hug with.
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1 comment:

  1. Cat DieselJune 22, 2010 at 10:03 AM

    Awwww =) YOU my friend, are the best running buddy. Great run last night, 13.1 here we come!!!!

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Welcome to Head Over Heels!

Like many 20-something women, I woke up one morning exasperated. It seemed like every day I would find a new passion, a new dream, and get excited about yet another project, just to find that they would all crash and burn. I wanted something that I could control and that would be all mine.

Because our 20s are a time of exploration and discovery, it's very hard to find that path that directs us exactly to our dreams, especially because our dreams have the habit of evolving overnight. I had worn myself into a tizzy of exhaustion, disappointment, and an overwhelming sense of having no control over my own life. And that's when I went for that first run.

Two minutes later, I arrived back at my apartment steps, panting. As long and as torturous as those two minutes felt, they also gave me a sense of liberation, a feeling that had been severely lacking in my life. The next day, pathetically still sore, I again put on my sneakers. Three minutes, yes! This routine was repeated daily throughout the summer and now, I'm a half-marathoner! My ultimate goal, a marathon, still looms in the distant future, but the even bigger goal is one I can actively work on every day: learning to gain control over my own life and learning to fall in love with myself one step at a time.