Every Spring the city comes alive. All of a sudden the doors are open and we come out of hibernation. This past weekend was absolutely beautiful, and everywhere I turned people were taking advantage of the handful of days we get in New England that are sunny, in the mid-70s, and not humid. I am happy to report I was out there with them!
Yesterday I started my day with my scheduled “long run.” I got out at right around 8am and got to see a lot of my neighborhood as it is early on a Sunday. I ran 4 miles! Heading out I knew I could do it because last weekend I ran 3.5, and really, what’s a half mile more? I really enjoyed this run, like genuinely had fun, which is crazy to me. When I first started running, I was obsessed with thinking about running while I was running, and it was really difficult for me to get out of that. My thoughts while I was running were generally about how much I hated running, and when had I run long enough where I could justify walking, and “oh I hope that light changes so I can stop for a second.” I would listen to music, hoping to distract myself, but then i would just calculate how long a song likely was and I would bargain with myself, “ok, I’ll run until the end of this 3 minute song…” It’s really awesome to be able to go out and run for almost an hour and not once think about walking, to not once wonder why I was doing it. I just got out, enjoyed the fresh air and bright sunshine, and did it.
Jeff on the Charles during our bike adventure!
After the run, I got home, ready to eat my face off and enjoy a beautiful Sunday. I walked in to find Jeff suggesting that we go for a bike ride to Jamaica Plain (for those of you not as familiar with Boston geography, JP is about 8 miles from where we are in Cambridge). I was still sweating from the run and kind of just looked at him completely confused as to why he would ask me to exercise MORE! I am just not used to being so active, but I’m very glad I accepted his suggestion. We biked about 15 miles, enjoyed a lovely day in JP and at Lilac Day at the Arnold Arboretum, and I got to house a delicious guilt-free sandwich.
Lilac Day!
I am in the process of changing my perceptions about exercise and activity. Where I used to view it as a necessary evil to be healthy, I now look forward to being active, and always feel great when I get the chance to be outside getting my heart rate up. I’m now at a point where, when it’s nice out, I can’t imagine spending a weekend day doing anything but something active.
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