13.1

I love running. It is my life line, my stress relief, my instant Prozac. The odd thing is that I was never more than a fair-weather runner until I started residency. I suppose the need for stress relief has never been so great. And it helps that the springtime scenery is infinitely more life-giving than the concrete jungle of my home town. There are only so many times you can run past a strip mall and inhale 72% car exhaust before you want to turn around and go home. But I digress…

10...more....steps...to...the...finish...line....

I am happy to announce I ran my first half marathon! That’s right, 13.1 miles, baby! At the present moment, I feel like someone just finished kick boxing my thighs and my joints resemble those of an 80 year old. I’ve got the zombie walk down pat. And, I am popping Ibuprofen like it’s going out of style. But my spirit is still riding high on endorphins. And given the post-vacation funk I was in last week, I needed this serotonin boost. It’s one thing to come back to work after vacation. It’s another ballgame to come back to start night float. There is something über-depressing about working while most of the world is asleep. And sleeping while most of the world is awake. That being said, the race couldn’t have come at a more opportune time.

I’ve been training for this race for about 3 months. Let me be clear that I’ve never been one for speed. I had one goal alone: to finish. Never mind the middle-aged mom types that power-walked right past me. Or the elderly runners who cruised on by as I was huffing and puffing through the last two miles. I didn’t even mind the full marathoners that finished at the same time as me. The fact was that I had run longer than I have ever run before… and I lived to tell about it! High five to me.

Next race? October 2010. I think I'm hooked.