tardy bells and old trails

total weekend distance:  12 miles
on the iPod:  "you wreck me" -- tom petty

Back to school is a blessed event in the cycle of a year for me.  Summer is great, with its time away from academics, its break from a schedule dependent on tardy bells and lunch periods, its departure the near-frantic pace of a high school bordering on 4,000 students; but my experience has been that the early weeks of August bring a pining for lectures, quizzes, assemblies, and interactions with really cool students.  It's time to go back and i'm completely cool with it.  

Going back to school also signals a pretty drastic change in schedule, which usually equals getting really tired really fast.  Such was the case after a day's worth of district meetings on Friday, so much so that within about 45 minutes of being dismissed I was laced up and on the trail system and logging mileage.  The other option would have been to take a nap on the couch and not wake up until Saturday morning, but that only got consideration for about 11 seconds.  I needed to run.  

After a quick but really energetic five miler, I cleaned up and went to the Houndstooth Clothing Company 20th anniversary party.  Michael Baker and his wife, Catherine, have become a uniquely classic part of the fiber that makes Fayetteville such a hip little town, and it was great fun to celebrate their successes with them.  They've been family friends since my sister and I both came to the University.  In addition to a shrimp boil, cake, and cold beer, they were screenprinting commemorative shirts on the spot.  Here's to another 20 years of a great little shop that's not so little anymore, and more importantly, to great friends and people in Fayetteville.

After sleeping with windows open for first time since early June, I woke Saturday morning feeling incredibly alert.  Heading out to drink coffee and read the newspaper, I drove through west Fayetteville toward Arsaga's with the windows down and a cool breeze permeating the air.  I must have been a few miles from home when, with no traffic in sight, I pulled a complete u-turn in the middle of road to head home and change into running clothes.  It was simply too nice outside to not enjoy the early morning with a run.  Within 100 yards of being out pounding pavement, I knew i'd made the right call.  I closed my eyes and headed forward with no plan whatsoever but to simply run.  No specific distance in mind, no route to navigate.  Just run.

The run was profoundly enjoyable.  My iPod provided a soundtrack that lined up like a greatest hits of some of my favorite bands over the years:  The Beatles, R.E.M., The Dave Matthews Band, Coldplay, and Johnny Cash all shuffled across my earbuds.  Each tune seemed to build on the previous, literally creating a timeline of my adult life.  I couldn't help to think nostalgically as the miles passed and the morning got better.  I thought of my latter college years, seeing live music and taking ski trips; of beach vacations with my family; of trying to figure things out in my late twenties.  And I thought about Abe Lincoln.

After an hour or so on the trail system and deliberately not paying attention to mileage, I veered into neighborhoods for no uncertain reason.  I know now that there was a definite reason I made that decision, but the truth is that it was made for me by a higher power, as I crossed paths with one of the most amazing people I know.  My friend Erin had just started a morning run and after catching up with each other at a nondescript intersection, I asked if she'd want to run together for a bit.  Because our paces are different, I didn't know if she'd want to, but she said yes immediately.  I didn't tell her at the time, but I knew that for whatever reason I was meant to veer off the trail system and run with her.  Sometimes that's just how things work, right?  

We must have run together for a full 30 minutes and I loved every moment.  Between discussions of upcoming races, friends and family, our lives, et cetera; my brain was flooded with memories of the 1990's when she and I met, both in our twenties and somewhat focused on finishing college and somewhat not.  Those years were so incredibly formative for me and Erin was a huge part of it.  Along with other friends, Jason and Rachel come to mind, we bit off huge chunks of life and swallowed them whole, sometimes choking a little bit but always with a smile on our faces.  Erin is one of the most kind and even-keeled persons I know, and I always enjoy my time with her.  Years ago, she let me know that she was cool with who I am, and that our friendship was unconditional.  I'm so blessed to still call her a friend today and I love her very much.  We've both grown immensely as people, but we've stayed the same in ways that matter most.    

   

The New York City Marathon is about ten weeks away, which means its time to put in some real mileage.  I haven't run more than 13 since April and I can feel the itch to get in some 15 and 17 milers.  And from there it will only go up until running 26.2 through all five boroughs of the greatest city in the world.  I know the months leading up to it will fly by, but I hope being back at BHS will keep me grounded and focused until it's time to run.  If nothing else, it'll keep me sufficiently exhausted and ready to destress with a good distance run, but something tells me it's going to be a great academic year.  This week will consist of more professional development and meetings, then students will flood the halls and the year will officially begin.  Controlled chaos will give way to a pretty cool environment for shaping thought and expanding ideas.  I'm ready to get it started and watch it happen.