Running in Central Park

The blog has been quiet because I have been busy.  I spent two weeks traveling the northeast with my parents.  We went to New York City, Newport, Norfolk, Boston, and Colonial Williamsburg.  It was busy and didn't leave a ton of time for structured exercise, beyond all the walking. 

But I did get to have an awesome run in Central Park.  I ran a 5K in 36:52.  I thought that was pretty respectable for not having run in the six weeks before.  I didn't know much about the paths in Central Park before I got there so I just planned on following other runners to get an idea of where I could run and what I should avoid.  Runners are cool like that.

So, I see a group of runners and decide to follow them.  I get into the groove and I'm having a good time and all of the sudden I see people on either side of us wearing green t-shirts saying things like "Way to go" or "You're doing great, keep it up." 

Turns out I had joined a race!  I love races.  They are a great atmosphere; everyone running in them wants to be there.  I kept going with them, ran through the finish line, they even shared their water with me despite the fact that I didn't have any numbers.  Then I finished up my 5K.

I had a great time.  The park was beautiful and everyone was in a good mood.  It was a Saturday morning so the park was closed to cars and the weather- an unusual cold front that kept the mornings in the 60s- made the run amazing.

Only downside: the next two days I hobbled around because my stupid foot gave me such trouble. 

Things with the young man are still going well.  I told him about the blog but asked him to not to read it yet.  When I'm ready for that then it will happen.  I'm really trying to take things slowly and deliberately and not just rush through everything because of how good it feels.  It's a challenge. 

Actually, it's really hard not to try and manipulate things to go faster.  There are two things working in my favor: this young man treats me better than anyone ever has before.  Really, if this doesn't work out then he has spoiled me for someone else.  The second thing working in my favor is that I have decided to let him- as much as I can- dictate the pace of the relationship.  So far this is working out really well.  It has led to some occasional confusion on my part but overall I am satisfied with this decision. 

Slow and steady?  No: slow and with purpose.