December | 2016 | I Do Run

(Written in response to the #PicandaWord weekly challenge prompt, from Pix to Words, 12/25/16.)

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The woman I am

Is the woman I was

The quiet one

The smart one

The bookworm

The one who ran a high school mile in 20 minutes

The woman I am

Is the woman I was

The hands in my back pocket,

I can conquer the world,

Let the party begin,

I can pull off an A paper in 4 hours Co-ed

Who wasn’t self aware enough

Who wasn’t practiced enough

To know alcoholic lies

The woman I am

Is the woman I was

The trusting in a good world

How did this happen to me

Despite my negative words

Against my feminist will

It must be my fault

Forgive me, understand me lover.

The woman I am

Is the woman I was

The grieving mother

The don’t get too close so it doesn’t hurt mother

The oh it could be fun and easy mother

The I didn’t realize boys were so different mother

The stay my baby a little a lot longer mother

The woman I am

Is the woman I was

Angry and hurt

Confused yet hopeful

Spurned into action

Despite fears of rejection

I am the intersection of

My gender

My ethnicity

My religion

My race

The intertwining of identity and history

The woman I am

Is the woman I was

Merry Christmas everyone! And Happy Chanukah to all my Jewish friends!

This post was supposed to go out in October however it didn’t. Blame it on my continued issue with being distracted (also called “4 kids syndrome”). Blame it on the outcome of the presidential election (also called “proud to be a snowflake because it means I am a caring human being” syndrome). It’s been an exhausting two months and running with my MRTT group has been one of the few things that has helped recharge me.

As the new year approaches, I am again re-committing to practicing self-care through running and writing/blogging. No more hiding out and using other people’s words to speak my truth.

It’s official….
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I ran my first race in PA last weekend (*meaning back on October 16, 2016) – the Hershey Half Marathon. That means I am officially a Pensylvanian Runner!

It was a hilly course, but getting to run through Hersheypark and having kids from the Milton Hershey School cheer us on was totally worth it.

I wasn’t too fond of the sections where we ran through the parking lot around the stadium (especially towards the end – that was like the Sahara Desert of parking lot runs!). But overall the course and the course support was pretty good.

I did 2:1 intervals the entire race and it felt really good! I have become a true interval convert – I haven’t been injured since doing interval running and I feel great and energized at the end instead of feeling like I am dying! That’s a good thing right?

The one disappointment at the end was the non-chocolate chip cookie. We got a great lunch bag with other goodies, but when I bit into the cookie and realized it was oatmeal raisin – what the what??!! This is HERSHEY – the chocolate capital of the world! I don’t care if oatmeal raisin is a better “recovery cookie”….I want my chocolate!! Maybe next year they can make it chocolate chip oatmeal raisin?