Back on the wagon

For me, running is all about the mindset. In high school and college I absolutely despised running because all I could think while doing it was, "this is so hard," "I hate this," "I can't last another five minutes," etc. But about a year ago when my good friend Heather Hurley proposed that the two of us sign up for the Baltimore Running Festival Team Relay, all of that changed. Of course my immediate reaction was, "yeah right, I've never run six miles in my entire life." But training for the relay was a delight. I think it's because I had a goal to work towards, which forced me to stop hating every minute of the run and start enjoying it for what it was. The relay was my first race, and I loved it, so Heather and I then signed up for the Baltimore 10 Miler, which was last June. Unfortunately the 10 miler didn't go as easily as the relay, and I kind of fell out of grace from running for a while (am I using that expression correctly?). All summer I would force myself to run, but wasn't getting the same enjoyment out of it, and as a result, couldn't snap back into a normal running routine.

Baltimore 10 Miler. Just... barely... made it...

Anyway, to keep things short, there's a reason for this rant. These last two weeks, I've been running an average of 6 miles, 5 days a week. It just came out of nowhere. I'd been running for 30 or 40 minutes every few days, but I guess I just got a random spirt of motivation and I'm absolutely loving it. It looks like I've finally managed to climb back on the wagon. The weather is lovely, the terrain isn't too challenging, and the people watching never gets old. So, thanks, Ashdod! Keep this up and I can eat all of the pita, sufganiyot, and kosher gummy worms (no gelatin!) I want, guilt free.

On a totally unrelated note, I want to wish my Bubbie a happy early birthday! Her birthday isn't until December 6, but she doesn't have a computer and can only read my blog when a technologically savvy family member is visiting her. Right now, my dad's in Florida with his fancy new iphone or laptop or ipad or something along those lines, so I want to take this moment to say, happy birthday Bubbie! I love you! Thanks for being such a wonderful grandmother. I'm going to Jerusalem tomorrow, which is where I plan to buy earrings with the money you gave me to buy myself something nice. And don't worry, I'll haggle.