I was thinking today about how a 10k race is like life. When you start out life, you all start out in a big pack. The pack begins to thin out after a few Ks and you find your groove. In finding that groove, you begin to run the same pace as others around you. When you're near those people, you tend to chat with them a bit and get to know them. Somewhere mid-race, you kick into gear and meet up with a new pack of folks. Some of them want to chat, but now everyone is getting more intense and concentrating more on even breathing; talking only gets in the way. The last 2k are off the hook; you are in the zone and no one exists except for you. After the finish line, the group becomes homogeneous again; slow and fast runners intermingle and tell their stories again.
The point of this whole vignette? I was thinking about training partners and groups. I've had many in my day, and I feel that this blog is the start of a new sort of training partner. Today, however, I would like to concentrate on someone that I ran a lot of that race of life with.
I had the most amazing training partner in college. We started training together in the summers. We spent hours on the track and in the gym. My training partner made our workouts something to look forward to. We sang through our runs, made crazy shirts and sports bras, and spent summer mornings laughing together. Along the way, we fell in (and out) of love, so we cried together. Then we laughed together a little more. My training partner and I didn't always run the same speed for intervals, but our lives were on the same track. My training partner became a life coach. Then, one day, our paces changed. Eventually, we began to enter separate races and we ran across the globe, away from each other. Now, we probably aren't running races of life....maybe we're playing rugby or lacrosse or something that doesn't even look like a running race anymore. I wave at my training partner from the sidelines from time to time...but hopefully I'll join her team and we can play together soon.
Until then, I run this trail alone...everyone else is focusing on breathing and running their own race...
PS. Actually, I didn't run at all today. I'm sitting on the couch, drinking hot chocolate. :(
dreams.
7 years ago
1 comment:
ta. i'm glad you are back blogging. its great reading! also you are making some great points :) love it. it makes me wanna just go out for a nice easy run WITH you, like back in the day. when i read your last post (not the latest) i had to remember the first time i ever ran double digits. thanks to you. do you remember your trip to the "bathroom" on that run? ha. miss you.
i've kinda taken the same approach to working out now too. i was going to run the la marathon, but i've decided rather than try to kill myself for such a lofty goal, be happy that i've ran 3 marathons in my life and work to better my health and my physique. i've had a great week of short runs, weight training, and sculpting.
love you.
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