Thursday, September 24, 2009
Marathon Training while on Vacation
Training while on vacation in New York is not easy. And my "Official Hal Higdon Training Program" is supposed to begin this weekend. Still, I think I'm doing okay. In spite of some "bad" days (think bread and wine), I've done pretty well sticking to my pre-training program. Oh, I've faltered here and there, and it would be easy to feel sabotaged before I've actually begun, but I can't buy into that. Not really. I know I'm in control and if I've made a few poor choices, it's because I made the choice. Nobody forced me to drink a half a carafe of red wine with my Italian food...or to cancel a workout because I wanted to sightsee. And if you really want to know the truth, it was all worth it. My goal is to be the best that I can be, and the best me likes her pizza and wine.
After a strong start to my new diet and running program a week ago, I missed three training days in a row: Friday (packing day), Saturday (travel day), and Sunday (sightsee day). This is when I could have felt disheartened, but I don't. It's just too beautiful here to get my spirits down about some diet, and all of the ways I am falling short of where I want to be. Phooey! I'm having a good time, and I have also since resumed running.
The Monday and Tuesday runs, and Wednesday walk were at a place called Jones Beach. No doubt about it, New Yorkers have great state parks, and this Long Island Beach is no exception. The boardwalk was designed to appear as if you're walking on a ship for miles either way. Upon entry, as if boarding an actual ship, fragrant flowers of every kind lined the walkway. Mile markers allow walker/runners to know how far they've gone. Strangely, the sandy beaches were deserted. (I've never seen our SoCal beaches deserted.) No people were walking in the sand. No surfers. The starkly calm waters and grassy dunes were made all the more lovely for it.
Beach season on the East Coast must be pretty short. I felt alone even though the boardwalk was teeming with people, busy day and night. I still felt alone with the white noise of the wind and sea, and my own thoughts about...nothing in particular. As night fell, I thought about the sliver of moon shining golden through the clouds, and how lights from distant ships appeared as isolated passing cities. I had to watch out so that I wouldn't step on any frogs which littered the ground. The task made especially difficult because I was also watching the flight patterns of planes on approach to land at JFK, the lights lining up the sky like so many stars waiting for a turn. I listened to a man singing to his little girl in her stroller, and she tried to sing along with him in "babyscreech." For all of these things, I felt grateful to be a part. And then I went out for a slice of NY cheese pizza.
Lovely water at Jones Beach
|