Running Doesn't Suck
In 2010(?), I bought a shirt that said “Running Sucks” on the front. I wore it in running races and a lot of people thought it was funny. In 2012, I decided that running actually did suck, and decided to quit. Ten years have given me the space to question that decision.
Over the past six months, I signed up for three races that just happened to occur over the past three weekends. I started running again back in November of last year. I wanted to get into better shape, and I also was curious to see if I would enjoy running again after taking so much time away. I think I discovered I do enjoy running, but not nearly enough to make it a full-time obsession like it was from 2007-2009.
On Memorial Day, I ran the Bolder Boulder for the first time since 2009. It’s a massive, fun event, and it just felt good to go back to that race. It was the first race I ever ran way back in 2003.
The following weekend was a 5k to support a charity that one of my coworkers started. You can read more about it and donate here: https://www.raresisters.org/
This was a really fun race because one of my former bosses showed up, and we just so happened to be pretty evenly matched. It had been a while since I had felt that competitiveness, and we battled back and forth, and he ended up beating me by about 15 seconds.
This weekend was the Garden of the Gods 10 mile race. I had always wanted to do this race. The Garden of the Gods is a beautiful place to visit. What I did not realize is that it’s not flat. The race was quite hilly and the weather was hot. I warmed up a little on the first mile of the course, and it starts uphill. I thought, “Oh, this course could hurt me,” and it did. It was a good challenge, and I felt like I handled it well.
I found many of the things I missed about running: fun events, the opportunity to run for a good cause, competitiveness, and a way to challenge myself. I don’t have any other races currently planned and with the weather getting hot again, I probably won’t make any plans until Fall. It was fun to get back out there.
I drove past my lot this evening. On the way there, I passed houses that had put up signs and they are just perfect.
When I pulled into my street it was amazing the difference just the debris removal has made. It almost looks like a brand new housing development.
My debris removal is complete, but they will test the soil now and make sure there are no contaminants before declaring it officially done.
The design has moved to structural engineering refinements and will hopefully be done by the end of the month. Then permitting and on to building! My builder thinks September is a reasonable month to aim for starting construction, and estimates approximately 12 months to complete the build. It’s exciting!
I will close by saying that sign in the neighborhood was so moving to me that I want to remind myself, and encourage everyone that reads this, to tell people you care about them loudly and often. Your family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, and strangers. It makes a big difference to know we’re not alone.