Kayaking on the Charles River
So as you may recall, I’m originally from the Boston area. I grew up just north of the city, went to college a few miles outside of the city, and spent two years after college living in a Boston borough. As you can imagine, moving away from my beloved homeland wasn’t on the top of my list of things to do, ESPECIALLY if that meant moving to New Hampshire. Lo behold, I am creeping up on 1 year of New Hampshire residency and it pains my little Bostonian heart.
Growing up with a runner for a dad, watching the Boston Marathon on TV every Marathon Monday (or.. Patriot’s Day.. I guess) was just what you did. Shockingly, I’ve never even watched the marathon in person. It’s a sore subject, and I don’t really want to talk about it, but it is what it is. I’ve always just been happy watching it on TV (plus, you never know what kind of weather you’re going to get in crazy New England).
Well, yesterday was beautiful and it irked me that this was the first year I really really wished I was on the sidelines rather than watching it at home. Last year’s events were tough on me because the marathon was always a staple in my childhood so it was kind of like someone hurt a member of my family. Also, it didn’t help that at the time I was living in the city but working in New Hampshire so I wasn’t able to go home to my apartment the night of the marathon and was unable to get in touch with my boyfriend (who was supposed to be at the finish line) since all of the phone lines were jammed. (Everything with him turned out to be fine – he ended up getting sidetracked by video games and never made it to the race.. sigh.)
Anywho, last year’s marathon really kicked my butt into gear and made me start training for real. I had gone through phases of “I’m going to run again!” and then would try and realize that you can’t just start doing it after not doing it for so long, so I would give up. “Running is hard! I’ll just stick with the elliptical.” After last year, I didn’t really feel like I had an excuse anymore. Being out of shape isn’t hard. Losing a loved one is hard.
So, because of this race, I’ve been able to get back into running and am training to run my second half marathon. Watching the stream of the race on my computer at work (um, hello other states, do you not realize that Marathon Monday is a holiday?), I just so badly wanted to be there and be a part of the race that gave me my hobby.
While I don’t live very far away from Boston, it still feels like I’m waaay too far. Next year I plan on taking the day off and watching the race in person (and maybe soon I’ll be able to be a part of the race as a runner).
Running On Lazy 