(no subject)
It says it's been 27 weeks since I posted, so I thought, maybe it's time for a post. And yet, I can't really think of anything too meaningful to say. I had some really cool research thoughts this morning and am super excited to develop them. I think they make my wage data on turn of the century São Paulo way more relevant and interesting. But, in all actuality, I don't think anyone really cares about that too much.
I guess I could share my race story. October 2007 I ran a 10K in Santa Monica, did well, and more importantly, had a lot of fun doing it. Someone said, why don't you run the marathon? I thought, you're crazy, but then I thought, why not? And so I trained to run. I got up to 20 mile runs and then realized that the stress reaction in my right leg was too much. One MRI later, I was sidelined for the marathon. A month of crutches, months of hobbling and six months without running at all was the outcome. Basically, it sucked. Total muscle atrophy and an intense fear of hurting my leg persisted into September as the pain resurfaced. The doctor said it was still healing. So, by February 9th I was ready to run in my first race, the Chinatown Firecracker 10K (year of the rat). Awesome! I was supposed to run it the year before, but was already sidelined with the stress fracture. So, race day is gorgeous, Pablo, James, Amy and I are all stoked. I start running, and I'm doing pretty decent. I keep running and passing people and keeping pace. This is awesome! I finish the race and have run well. I think, maybe I even placed in my age group. Results come out the next day, and I did place. BUT, my name's not on the list, or even on the finishers list. There's no result that says that I finished the race. Officially October 2006 is still the last race I ran. Does it matter? That day it did, but I realize, not really. What mattered is that I had fun running well. And maybe I can't just go out on a 10 mile run anymore, but I did just do a 6-mile race. And I realize that while a few years ago I would have stayed frustrated about the non-finish finish, now I'm only frustrated for a night. It's the little things that count.
I guess I could share my race story. October 2007 I ran a 10K in Santa Monica, did well, and more importantly, had a lot of fun doing it. Someone said, why don't you run the marathon? I thought, you're crazy, but then I thought, why not? And so I trained to run. I got up to 20 mile runs and then realized that the stress reaction in my right leg was too much. One MRI later, I was sidelined for the marathon. A month of crutches, months of hobbling and six months without running at all was the outcome. Basically, it sucked. Total muscle atrophy and an intense fear of hurting my leg persisted into September as the pain resurfaced. The doctor said it was still healing. So, by February 9th I was ready to run in my first race, the Chinatown Firecracker 10K (year of the rat). Awesome! I was supposed to run it the year before, but was already sidelined with the stress fracture. So, race day is gorgeous, Pablo, James, Amy and I are all stoked. I start running, and I'm doing pretty decent. I keep running and passing people and keeping pace. This is awesome! I finish the race and have run well. I think, maybe I even placed in my age group. Results come out the next day, and I did place. BUT, my name's not on the list, or even on the finishers list. There's no result that says that I finished the race. Officially October 2006 is still the last race I ran. Does it matter? That day it did, but I realize, not really. What mattered is that I had fun running well. And maybe I can't just go out on a 10 mile run anymore, but I did just do a 6-mile race. And I realize that while a few years ago I would have stayed frustrated about the non-finish finish, now I'm only frustrated for a night. It's the little things that count.