no promises to keep
I’ve taken to crossing days off my training calendar with a red sharpie. It is immensely satisfying. Today I crossed off August 31, the last day of my first full month of training. I was about to chuck it in the garbage (and no, I have no idea why I felt the need to cross the date off if I was just going to throw it away), but then I decided to save it. I want to put it on the fridge, with a big fat A for awesome. Because that calendar is a perfect reminder of the best lesson I’ve learned so far about running (and yes, like all good lessons this pertains to other aspects of life as well). I call it the 59th Street Bridge Lesson:

SLOW DOWN. [You move too fast.]
I am not claiming to be an exceptionally fast runner. In fact, I don’t think I have ever actually claimed to be a runner. I am not. But I am in the habit of attempting to do too much, too fast. My highly ambitious August training schedule listed all sorts of adventures, like yoga and squats and sprints and tennis. I managed to accomplish nearly none of these things. My calendar is a disaster of crossed-off items, shifting dates, and last-minute changes. Looking back on what I had originally planned for, I suppose my schedule could be considered a total failure. I managed to squeeze in weight training twice a week. Almost. I did not attend yoga once. I’m not sure where my tennis racket is. What I did manage to do was run.
Even more surprising was the fact that when I slowed down my running pace, I started to LIKE running. For the first few weeks, I spent a lot of time worrying about how much slower I was running outside than I had on the treadmill. But one day it hit me – if I run a little slower, I think I can run a lot farther. Suddenly I found myself kicking down the cobblestones and thinking, I could run like this FOREVER. (I assure you, this was my crazy mid-run brain talking. But at the time, it felt like truth.)
Crazy mid-run brain thoughts aside, slower runs clear my head. They give me a chance to be still, while in motion. I don’t have to worry about getting anything done, or checking my phone, or making a list of things I don’t have time to do. Just one foot in front of the other.
Sure, I still do faster runs, and intervals. I’m going to try really hard to make it to a yoga class in September. But the slow runs are my favorite. Like Ryan Hall said in Running With Joy, “When I am working out, I constantly ask myself, Am I making a deposit today or a withdrawal?” Long slow runs are my deposit. They relax, they refresh, they center. In short, they leave me feelin’ groovy.