Summer in the city

Annnnnd I'm back. After a month long sabbatical from "Couch to Comrades," steel yourself for weekly blog spam. The radio silence doesn't indicate a lack of running, I promise. Last weekend Kim and I ran the NYRR Brooklyn Half Marathon (recap to come in a second!) and I've been plugging around 30 miles a week for the past month in preparation for the start of marathon training in July. But to be honest, my ongoing premature quarter-life crisis has left me with little motivation to write about the same old, same old runs.

As most recent graduates will admit, this time in our lives is an exciting, promising, debaucherous chapter but still quite full of uncertainty. Friends move in and out of your life, apartments change seemingly every month, and five year plans rarely pan out as we envisioned. And for the first time, we're left without an obvious next goal to work towards. High school and college rolled by in a blur of standardized exams, college applications, club elections, job hunts, and theses, but now the next step is less clear and pursuing our true passions can often feel difficult, if not downright impossible.

Amidst this continual change, running serves as a much needed constant for me - not just a daily challenge but also a way to connect with friends no matter how much distance time puts between us. This fall, Christine, Mike, Tom, Kim, Greg, and I will be running marathons across the country, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be on the sidelines at every race cheering them on. As I've mentioned before, what better excuse for a reunion than a life-changing race!

Last Saturday, the Brooklyn Half reminded me why I adore running and why I've committed to running the Marine Corps Marathon this fall and Comrades next year. The conditions were perfect for a long race, the crowd support throughout the course was inspiring, and running with one of your closest friends makes the miles fly by. After a month of less than inspiring 6 mile runs, the half marathon was definitely the perfect antidote to my stuck-in-a-rut blues. Also amazing was seeing Maddie, who was visiting her friend Anna (who totally rocked the half) for the weekend! After the race finished, we all met up to grab some post-run carbs courtesy of Dunkin' Donuts (no way we could stomach Nathan's hot dogs), and sat around on the Coney Island boardwalk noshing and catching up. Always wonderful to see old friends and compare running war stories. With two marathons already under her belt, Maddie's definitely an old hand at this long distance running thing and has been a bit of a running inspiration for me :)

Upcoming races: Before listing my running ambitions for the summer, I shall caveat to hell that I am not built for hot, humid weather. It doesn't matter that I've lived on the swampy East Coast for the majority of my life; I've never acclimated. So forewarning that there may be a few too many whiny posts about horrendous racing conditions and skipped long runs. Yes, I am a wimp. The Wall Street 3M on June 24 is up next, followed by NYRR Splash n'Dash 10K in the beginning of July. Kim will be headed up to the city later in the summer for some lovely training runs and the Bronx Half Marathon. Call me crazy but I'm actually looking forward to 15+ mile runs every weekend!