Running is Life.
Back on the blog… sorry for the lag in writing.
Begininng early September, I decided to just run by feel- no formal training schedule, no races in mind. I ramped up my weight workouts with P90X as well as just good old fashioned gym workouts. It was time to give my hamstring a chance to recover as well as my plantar fasciitis – both of these injuries on my right side. Might be a coincidence, or maybe I am striding too hard on that side of the body. Either way, the last 7 weeks have been really insightfull.  I have enjoyed some fun weekends, with and without running…. But I also learned alot about myself.
For the first weekend, I actually slept in and went to brunch a few times- but by about 2pm, I couldn’t stand it any longer and like a caged cat, I needed to run, even just for a bit. A week later, my friend who is battling beautifully, a brain tumor, held a 5K fundraiser. I won first female and it hurt like hell.
Late September, JB and I went to Santa Cruz and camped, wine tasted and I craved running on the beautiful trails, so I went.
Santa Cruz trails
In early October, we had our good friends Hal and Carly down for the Bluegrass Music Festival. We all sang and danced and then went running all over SF. At least three of us are still picking blackberry thorns out of legs and arses. You’ll just have to guess what happened there and it wasn’t from the trail running. The following week, JB and I lost our dog, Mr. Big, to lymphoma. We cried a lot and guess what, I went running that whole week and cried many times on the trails. It felt right and frankly its the only thing I knew to do.
I guess what I learned is that I am not seperate from the run. It is intertwined into my life and it cannot leave me, even while taking a “break”.  It helps me be a better person and in the end, its what I want to do when I am happy, when I am sad and when I know no better.
Moving forward, I think I will plan for a fall 50K and even if I don’t, I will be out there running, somewhere.
JB running a half marathon in Santa Cruz
Bluegrass Festival, Hal Koerner, Carly Varner, Jen Benna, JB Benna
Blackberry's wrath
Atop Twin Peaks in San Francisco
Carly and Jen
This is how I will remember Mr. Big
