I remember struggling to finish that one lap around the park and thinking to myself, "how did this happen?" I used to be quite the star athlete back in the day--don't laugh. I'm serious. I was a force to be reckoned with on the kickball and wallball circuit back in elementary school. I won several sprints at the Aledo Intermediate School Field Day AND...if that weren't enough, I won the Barnyard Race with my partner in crime (combination of potato sack race, wheelbarrow race, and balance-a-potato-on-a-spoon race). So yes, I will toot my own horn and say that I was on the fast track to high school jock-dom. And here I found myself, the lone runner, in a grass field park, showered in my own sweat, trying to finish...a mile.
Suffice it to say that I can run a mile now. More than a mile if you want. I'm no cross-country star or marathoner but I've taken quite a liking to running. I don't know what about it I like so much; perhaps the fact that you're constantly moving, trying to get somewhere. Something about it feels very much "at home." I don't know why. Falling into rhythm, listening to my ipod, sweating in the sun. It's all very comforting. Even when I look at my anorexic (as the tabloids would say of Nicole or Lindsay) wrists and arms and think "i could really use some more upper body work," it's still comforting.
Since my amateur days pre-college I've been able to feel this comfort, this feeling of being "at home" all over the world. There's nothing better than putting yourself into a routine, whether it be for a mere 30 minutes or over the course of an entire year. A list of my past stomping grounds: Austin, TX; Amherst, MA; Boston, MA; Manhattan, NY; San Francisco, CA; Seoul, Korea...
And now Madrid, Spain. Some pictures of where I've spent time pumping endorphins.
4 comments:
ick. running.
I actually used to be on the cross country team in high school, and would run 7 or 8 miles every night....but....not anymore. ick ick ick.
Good for you though paul! and nice pictures, madrid looks beautiful.
my dear, i would echo lisa's sentiments. ick. running.
but i admire all runners. they're so thin. as are you, lucky lucky.
pole, these are lovely pictures, but where the hell are the pictures with YOU in it? PLEASE POST THOSE. i am anxiously awaiting.
I've been there! I've been there!! I've been there!!!
And I ache to go back...bring Madrid to Austin, Mooch?
haha. is that your way of saying, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS MUSIC?
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