Running, On!

Originally written on Thursday, April 18, 2013.

Otherwise known as... The Accidental Post

I came home on Monday, intent on writing a paper on Annual Measurable Objectives, which is a report issued each year comparing the achievement of subgroups (ethnicity, disability, and environmental factors) to the achievement of subgroups the previous year.  I called Mom, as I often do, on my way home, and she asked me if I'd heard about Boston.

I had not.

She gave me the details she knew, and then hung up.  I felt sick.  I came home, turned on NPR and tuned into Facebook, tried to focus on the task at hand, and fell short.

This is what I know for sure.  Runners-- particular runners in the Boston Marathon, since you have to qualify to enter the race-- are not intimidated easily.  This is a group of people who volunteer to run 26.2 miles, not just to finish, but to run fast.  They train, they dig deep, they are focused on their goal.  Next year, you can bet there will be even more spectators at the finish line. 

Runners support each other.  They say, You're doing great!  They flash a thumbs up; they offer a friendly pat on the shoulder. 

I don't know who perpetrated the event that took the lives of three innocent people, but I do know this:  If their intent was to instill fear on runners when participating in a race, they failed.  Runners are made of much stronger mettle than that.

As someone who aspires to be a "real" runner (when I bought my shoes at Track Shack I told the salesmen I'd only run a couple of halves and didn't consider myself a real runner-- he told me I was wrong) I stood in solidarity on Tuesday morning with those who ran the ultimate race on Monday.  I wore the tech shirt I had received when I ran the Princess 1/2 Marathon in February.  I paired it with black slacks and a black cardigan to make it work-appropriate, but nothing was going to stop me from wearing that shirt.  I felt pain for all those affected by the bombing, but I knew that this small symbol of unity would help me process what I still could not fathom.

Switching gears a bit... it may be cheating, as my friend Han (short for Hannibal Lechter, whom he loves to impersonate, thus making me absolutely cringe) told me earlier this week, but I am taking the day off tomorrow... to work on graduate school projects.  Han is my buddy in the Stetson Educational Leadership program I am undertaking for the next ten months or so.  He's more than ten years younger than me and a math person, but we have found common ground in both working for My Ever-Growing County. 

I've been balancing life since starting class in early January reasonably well up until now, but I am moving in six weeks, and feel crunched to get the packing done, the reading in, the papers written.  Plus... I've just started seeing someone special (no, not the First Date guy, someone else undisclosed... for now) and adding that wonderful factor into the mix presents... a challenge.  If I'm right, though, he is worth it, and I can execute this balancing act with grace and poise.  I've already written the paper due Saturday, but there are other looming assignments;  I just need tomorrow to get my bearings. 

My sanity is worth it.  Being able to return to work on Monday, with my head totally in the game, will be worth it even more.  I am in this race, and I will run ON!

Author's note:  As the author reviewed earlier posts and added labels today, she inadvertently posted this piece, which had been written a couple of days after the bombing of the Boston Marathon.  Initially, she chose not to share the post, but upon reflection today (after realizing the accidental publishing) she realizes it  perfectly captures her feelings from last week.  Bahston runnahs-- rock ON!