The Lucky 18

I always get so worked up going into a long run, even though underneath I'm genuinely excited. I love the anticipation of that feeling at the end where you know that you just worked really hard, and that your previous hard work has paid off. Few things in life, in my experience, offer such immediate & consistent rewards.

Today I was antsy going into the run because I'd gotten a later start than I meant to due to silly daylight savings time, and an intense game of Scrabble with the husband last night-- how old are we? But I finally got on my way. A couple of miles into the run, I realized--

Hey! You haven't worried about your knee at ALL!

The realization that I'd finally come to trust that my knee was not going to cause trouble brought SUCH a sense of relief. All my other runs for the last few months have been plagued with constant, "Does it hurt yet? Does it hurt? Is that the tape pulling, or my knee hurting? What was that? Is the tape coming undone? Does it hurt?"

Bottom line is, I really liked that I was able to get mentally wrapped up in some other problem, like the fact that I'd gotten a late start. And I thought, "Boy, am I lucky."

• I'm lucky to have great knee doctors, who told me without question that we could fix this. And they were right.
• I'm lucky to have supportive and understanding husband, parents, and friends who love me in spite of my incessant chatter about running and its daily ups and downs.
• I'm lucky to have this great opportunity to run the Boston Marathon via GBTC.
• I'm lucky to be able to set goals and follow through on them, which really requires a lot of predictability and stability in life. When I was in grad school, I used to think about how I couldn't wait to be done so I could JUST RUN instead of having to read 2039853257 pages and write an equally long paper. Grad school is done, and I am loving being able to JUST RUN.
• I am lucky that it has been such a mild winter (even though this might mean the world is ending.) What a great year it has been to train for Boston.
• I am lucky that the Minuteman Rail Trail, from Bedford to Cambridge, is so close to home. It is AMAZING. There are always so many people out who are just so happy to be outside -- Cyclists (the elite, the tandem, and the training wheels), walkers, strollers, dogs, roller bladers, and of course, many other runners. There's never a dull moment. Today, I saw a man who I swear was Chuck Norris, as well as a 3 year old who was confidently leading his parents and younger brother on a walk, explaining (loudly) what they'd be going and what they'd be seeing. Also there were about 500 dogs around Fresh Pond, sans leash, many of which had gone for a happy swim. I want one.

Click here for a map of the Minuteman Rail Trail.  I usually park in Lexington and run into Cambridge.

The run was great. 18.3 in 2:42, and only 1 pack of Gu! Hooray glycogen efficiency. 5 weeks until Boston. Can it be?? NYC Half next weekend!

Happy running!