The Journey
With the Portland Marathon a mere 56 days away combined with my last blog written on May 8th, I feel I am more than due for a marathon training check in as well as a general status report on my end. I’m sure this will appease my many avid readers. : )
I have been busy putting in my prerequisite running miles for the Portland Marathon ever since I finished the Eugene Half Marathon this past May. Diligently tying up my laces, I have been hitting the pavement religiously throughout the summer, never missing a day-with a type A-sih fervor only I and other A type-ish people can appreciate. Well, okay…to be honest, a quick review of my online running log that I maintain, again with a type A-ish fervor, reveals that I have missed August 8th and August 4th…BUT OTHER THAN THAT! I have routinely been hitting the pavement, and am “on track” for my date with the streets of Portland on October 9th.
At this point, I feel some needed running reflection coming on…bear with me dear reader.
Who is it that said, “it’s not about the race, but the journey”? Or something or other like that. This is especially true with training runs. While for most people it may start out initially as being about the race,(who hasn’t wanted to run that 10K? Or climb a certain mountain?) that feeling quickly evolves as you begin putting in the hours to achieve that goal. After running the Eugene Marathon in 2009, while I do remember the feeling of achievement while crossing the finish line and the weight of the medal hanging around my neck, in retrospect, it’s the dozens and dozens of long, quiet training runs leading up to that big run that stand out more for me. The ones where no one else is present, there are no creative inspirational banners held by onlookers, no crowds of people cheering you on, and no…no silly cow bells. It’s just you and the road.
So for me, it’s not about the race, but the journey. And what a journey it’s been! The familiar yet mild Oregon winter rain pelting me while I happily trot out a 7 miler on the Amazon Bark Trail in Eugene in the middle of January; the researching of energy bars, gels, and something oddly referred to as goos during my first training program when I finally decided to get serious about this running thing and find that perfect mix of fuel that worked for me. My journey has taken me all the way from my first measly running attempt when I enthusiastically walked down to the local track at Central High School in Pueblo, Colorado (2 laps! and a not-so-enthusiastic walk home) to training for and running my first marathon, to fully integrating running as a part of my lifestyle-with an occasional half, or full marathon here or there and a sprinkling of 5ks and 10ks to mix it up. I honestly don’t know where I’d be if I couldn’t have my daily dose of run.
Running is what helps me get through that even bigger journey: Life. My daily runs are what energize and inspire me. Often, it is what helps me cope and deal. Sometimes I can organize my thoughts and get better clarity during a run, and sometimes I just need to zone out and go on auto-pilot during a run with little to no brain activity. Each run along my journey is special, whether I go out with a good friend or a group or with my faithful four-legged training partner Bella, or go it solo. Whether I plug in and turn up the tunes, or leave the I-Pod at home. No matter if I pack it all up and drive to a new trail or location for a run, or opt for my familiar sleepy neighborhood with its winding country roads and familiar faces. Like the older fellow who reliably sits in his armchair by the window and watches tv-who always waves to me as I sail past-kinda grandpa-like. I look for him each time now, and it has become our thing even though we have never officially met, except in this way-waving to each other from across the window and a generation. Yup, each run is special to me in its own way.
Transitioning away from the random running reflection…thank you for hanging in there reader.
And so, the training runs continue. To date, I have run a total of 575.2 miles in 2011. If I were to have actually run this distance from my house, I calculate with the help of MapQuest, that I would be approximately in Twin Falls, Idaho about now!
So there you have it, my training check in.
As for a general status report on my summer, I spent the first week of my break in Colorado. Pictures can be found here. Having not visited in two years, it was time to see some friends and family. Though, having not visited in two years, it had been awhile since I’d been in a city the size of Denver. Living in a town with a population of 5,035 (I like how that 35 seems to be proudly tacked on), Denver’s Metropolitan Statistical Area of a little over two and a half million people in 2009 can be a bit overwhelming. The word claustrophobia comes to mind. Driving away from DIA in my brother’s Jeep in the middle of a Colorado summer (think 109 degrees), in the middle of the day, in the middle of I-70 west, in the middle of rush hour (which I understand is any hour between 7:30 am – 7:30 pm), I found myself in the middle of a mild panic seeing all of those 2 and half million people’s cars. My brother though I noticed, was chatting away seamlessly with me all while easily navigating the traffic, swerving in and out of the other vehicles and the ever-present road construction. Being a Colorado native, this never used to phase me. What happened? I guess that’s what’ll happen to you if you move into a one-stoplight town.
Thankfully, I spent the majority of my visit away from the interstates of Colorado. I went to my ten year high school reunion, saw my family and visited some of my old stomping grounds. It was while visiting ol’ memory lane- visiting some old places and old faces-that it finally came to me. The answer to that silly question people always ask, and I am always stumped to answer: “Where are you from?” That question has always, always, plagued me, and has never been an easy one to answer with just one word…sometimes, with one paragraph. And I have secretly for years, always craved to have that place where I can say I’m from, and to have an answer to that innocent question. Finally, I had it! It occurred to me one evening, about halfway through my trip, while squeezing in a training run along the Garden of the Gods and of course it immediately had to become my facebook status for the day:
“Carley Evans: Just realized that underneath all of her Oregonian layers, she’ll always be a Colorado girl at heart.”
One week is not a very long time while at the same time it is long enough. I had visited a lot of people, and unfortunately, I ended up traveling a few more miles than I cared for navigating those treacherous Colorado interstates going from one town to the other. The altitude and the 100 degree temperatures were starting to get to this Oregoniangal. It was time to head home.
Goodbyes are always hard, but for some reason it was harder this time around. I found myself desperately fighting off tears while hugging my not-so-little, little bro goodbye in the sweltering heat of the airport parking lot. With this trip back home, I had finally come to see that somewhere in the years since I had packed up my moving van, and headed back to Oregon to make my home, my little brother- the one who so gleefully tortured me in that way that little brothers can only do when we were kids, my worst adversary and best friend- had really grown up. Looking at him, it isn’t hard to see Dad. Stepping away from our hug, I failed at pulling off a not-crying look, and we made promises of seeing each other again soon…the plans of which, I am proud to announce are already under way! Oregon Coast-2012. Be there.
The rest of my summer has been filled with lots of books (19th Wife & A Good Dog to name a couple), of course a lot of running, playing a few concerts in the park, a couple of good hikes ( Mount Bohemia and Kentucky Falls), a couple of trips to the coast: (Cape Kiwanda Pictures here), and last but not least, I’ve spent a lot of my time this summer with visits to Fern Ridge Lake with Bella to cool off. My summer: kinda low key, relaxed…just the way I like it. Recharging and re-energizing for the new school year looming just around the corner.
I wonder what kind of journey 2011-2012 will bring?
