can’t wait to run

The weather has been unseasonably warm the past few weeks, daring me to step outside. I’m surprised I hadn’t done so until today. The past couple of weeks, as I take a hiatus from my consultant work (as in, no projects available), I’ve been driving my dad to and from the hospital in NYC twice a week. He’s been battling cancer, leukemia to be specific. It has gotten so that he has become blood transfusion dependent, which means one day of plasma/platlets and another day of antibiotics. Every month or so he will go in for a few days of chemo.

The drive is to and from the suburbs on Long Island, averaging about two hours each way. During each trip I get to see the sun while driving alongside the hundreds of other cars during their commute. On days that I’m not playing taxi driver, I’m usually wiped out or busy doing frivolous things as I call in to the firm once in a while.

So today I went out for a walk for the first time this year. I prefer to run, I really enjoy it, but I just know that my body will kill me if I just started sprinting since I haven’t really been doing any sort of roadwork in months. I have been walking a lot more than running recently though (when I do go outside to run/walk). My knees aren’t what they used to be, unfortunately. I can still run, but just not a lot otherwise I’ll hurt something down there.

I know I probably could have used the fold up treadmill in the family room during the cold months, but I guess it just doesn’t feel the same. There is something different about feeling the ground, the road beneath your feet as you move forward, with the wind in your face and the sun on your skin. I notice more things around the street as I walk or run, than I do while driving by. I see the carefully landscaped front yard, the blue metal mailbox with a dent in it. I hear birds chirping, chipmunks frolicking (which reminds me, I have to write another entry about those other creatures). I see fresh roadkill, people’s garbage, and I know when that lady down the street likes to sunbathe without any

Well, you get the idea. (Disclaimer: no I am not your friendly neighborhood stalker. Really. Honest.)

I probably mentioned this before – the route I take ends up being about 3 miles. When I walk it, it feels like I can walk forever, though there are enough hills (up and down, steep and shallow) and twists to keep me from getting bored. That and the intermittent traffic. The neighborhood itself is quite rural. Most of the lots are about an acre, so you get an idea how far apart the houses are – I guess you could say a stone’s throw apart… if that stone was thrown by some 5 year old kid. My old neighborhood was denser by comparison. A stone’s throw would probably end up in someone’s living room. I would say that it’s a mostly wooded area, so the majority of the roads tend to be shaded by trees. Often, charity groups would organize a run/walk or bike ride through the neighborhood, so it’s a fairly popular place to do those things around this area. The main road travels from the entrance of our neighborhood (officially an incorporated village) to a cul de sac overlooking a cliff, which overlooks a stretch of beach some 50 or so feet below. They started repairing the cul de sac at the end of last summer (due to erosion), which was a bummer because people like to go around the cul de sac whenever they go through the neighborhood. It looks like, though it will be done in time for summer.

While I prefer running, I’m learning to discover some neat things about walking. For one thing, I tend to think more while I’m walking. With each step while I’m running, I’m thinking about surviving that step, while I walk, I’m thinking “why am I stepping here?” and “who put that bubblegum there?”

I’ve been inside for so long that I’ve forgotten how much I enjoy being outside. And yeah, I admit I miss oogling my female counterparts (subtly of course). But along with the oogling, is that unspoken respect of a fellow roadster, the acknowledgement that “Yeah, you’re here. I’m here. The road is staying here, but I sure as hell am moving on.”

I learned to appreciate the running thing from high school. I was on the track team, but I wasn’t particularly good. After a while I realized I wasn’t going to win any medals doing this, but I did appreciate what went into it, as long as I was going forward and finishing.

I suppose in the end, that’s what it is. I may not win any particular prize at the end, but I’ll try my best to make the most of every step, appreciate every yard (especially the one with the sunbathing lady), and… well I know there’s a third thing, there usually always is.

Dang it. It’ll come to me one day.