Pleasant Street

When I started running I felt the ache in my legs immediately.  It's been way too long since I've done this and my body was paying me back for months of sitting on my ass and drinking beer.  After about five minutes I got tired and looked as far down the street as I could see.  The road curved up ahead and I told myself I'd turn around when I got to the curve.  But when I got there I realized I didn't need to turn around yet.  I had hit my stride and I was surprised that I made it here as quickly as I did.  The fact is,

It's not always as hard as it looks. 

Once I really got going, it was just about staying in that zone, in that stride, where I could freely move--and this is where I found focus.  This is where my mind was cleared.  This is where things finally started to make sense.  Hitting the stride let me forget about how tired I was getting, how out of shape I was, and how stressed I was.  I was finally allowed to stop what I was doing (except running, I couldn't stop running) and focus on me.  When I did that I was amazed by what I found.  Confidence. (Safe) carelessness.  Calm.  I was relaxed, or as relaxed as you can be while running through the Back Bay.  This is what I want to emulate during the rest of my day when I'm not running.  When I'm working, when I'm studying, when I'm making dinner, and when I'm writing.  Confidence and focus.

You will hit your stride.

I need to tell you about where I'm running.  To give you a feel for it I'll say that it is the Back Bay of Boston, but it's really Brookline.  Brookline is a bit snooty--a lot of professors from the nearby Harvard, MIT, Boston University and Northeastern University live in Brookline in some of the most expensive real estate in Massachusetts.  Being the poor, somewhat disheveled recent college graduate that I am, I feel a little bit out of place running through there.  But that's not what I want.  In fact, when I think about my future, this is how I imagine it--in a quiet, beautiful neighborhood, not far from the city, in a moderately big (big for New England) house with trees, grass, and a back yard.  And that's a pretty accurate description of Brookline.  It was today, while running through Brookline, that I passed Kenn Elmore's house, the Dean of Boston University.  The charm he poses is warming; his ability to connect with you personalizing; and his magnetic personality is disarming.  As someone who has to safely navigate between bureaucratic bullshit and personal connections, I greatly admire him.  It was then that I realized how I needed to get comfortable with running in Brookline if I was going to succeed in getting myself there.  I know see that you need to

Surround yourself with the people you want to be.


Now, back at my apartment, I ran 1.6 miles all together and it took me about 20 minutes.  Yeah, not very impressive.  Especially when I tell you that I was done after just 20 minutes.  But I'm not the least bit embarrassed.  Like I said, my run today allowed me to rediscover my confidence.  It let me assess the state of reality in the present moment, and to calmly consider my place in it.  It is for that reason that I am not ashamed, and I simply remind myself...

You have to start somewhere.


Until next time, keep running.