DAY 229: NMP: Run ‘n’ Fun.

Another month, another New Monthly Project…

Last month’s NMP of finishing my one man show was a complete failure. I hardly even worked on it. The deadline to submit to the theater is the 10th of every month. And while I do have enough material to throw something together to submit in time… if it got accepted, I’d have to bust my ass to turn it into something good. Instead, I’d rather wait another month and submit something good to be begin with, and then bust my ass and turn it into something great.

Anycrap, this month’s NMP is to get back to running again! (I put an exclamation at the end of that sentence, trying to trick myself into believing that I’m excited about it!)

I actually got a head start on this NMP last month, in order to snap out of my post-Mary Land depression. I went on two 20 minutes runs, and didn’t want to die afterwards… a good sign that I might be able to stay committed to my NMP this time.

For those of you who weren’t fortunate enough to read all my boring running blogs from last spring and summer, here’s the backstory on my love/hate relationship with running:

Because I came from a very sports-based family, I was forced to partake in athletic after-school activities. (Apparently, band and drama club just weren’t cutting it.) My freshman year, I played soccer, because that’s what I played in grade school. And just like in grade school, I spent pretty much the entire season keeping the bench warm for the good players.

You might not know this, but soccer players can be bigger bullies than football or baseball players. I was ridiculed not for my poor defensive skills, or for the fact that I couldn’t run up and down the field without running out of breath… but for my effeminate personality off the field. Seriously, some days I thought I was going to be raped by a group of freshman Catholic school boys… and not in a hot way.

Sophomore year I wised up and switched sports. Or at least I thought I was being wise. Everyone always told me that with my long legs, I would be an excellent cross-country runner. Everyone was wrong. I think they mistook the fat on my thighs for muscle. In high school I was about 20-30 pounds heavier. (5 extra pounds in each breast, 10 in the face, and the rest in my badonkadonkdonk.)

The upside of joining the cross-country team, was that the team was so big I could get lost in the crowd and not be made fun of. The downside, however, was that there were 3x as many people for me to be worse than. I wasn’t so much getting “lost in the crowd.” It was more like the crowd was losing me, as I was at least a mile or five behind everyone. I seriously came in last every single time.

Halfway through junior year I quit, which did not sit well with my parents. I didn’t tell anyone I quit. I just stopped showing up to practice, and spent my time hanging out with my friends after school. I doubt anyone really noticed. My parents soon enough figured it out when I didn’t have any more meets to invite them to. It was just like when I secretly quit the choir in 6 grade. Except to this day, I still can’t sing.

But now I can run. And I’m actually quite good at it. I started up again right after college, in order to help myself quit smoking. I ran 5+ miles every day for a month, coughing up black tar out of my lungs all along the way. Once I felt secure enough to not go back to the nic-stick, I quit running. (Turns out I’m pretty good at quitting things.)

I lasted almost 3 years without smoking. Until I moved to New York and foolishly thought that I could just be a “social smoker” again. Wrong! Soon I was back to half-a-pack a day, and I knew that it was time to get those legs moving again.

Last President’s Day (March ‘06) I stopped smoking (shared my last one with my Boo) and started running again. I got to know the industrial plants of Williamsburg quite well, running 2-3 times a week. By the end of the summer I had reached my goal of a 10 mile run, and was quite proud of myself. My last run was actually back home in MN, at my parent’s cabin, while I was on vacation. As soon as I got back to the city, Jeffrey and I had to make our move to Bed-Stuy, and I no longer had time for running. My days were soon filled with painting, home improvements, and devoting all of my free time to my DVR.

But now that the TV season is almost over, it’s time to get back into shape. I haven’t started smoking again (13 months strong!) and I eat a lot healthier (meat-free for 6 months), but I still feel a bit lethargic. Although running can be a pain in the ass (and many other unused muscles in my body), it does help to clear my head and make me feel somewhat less mentally unbalanced.

My goal for this month is to run 3 times a week. After that, I don’t want to become one of those crazy, workout-obsessed people, but I would still like to try and exercise at least twice per week. It’s hard to commit to running in the winter, but maybe I can finally join a gym. (Or maybe not, as I still fear trying to use weights in front of other people.)

The point is, I’d like to stay active year round, an not just when there’s nothing good on the TV. Also, someday I want to run the NYC Marathon. I don’t think I could train for that while I still have my hateful, full-time job. But once I am able to freelance, and get solid work as a writer, maybe I would have the time to run 5 days a week for miles and miles and miles. (Of course, by the time that fantasy happens, my decrepit body probably won’t be able to handle it.)

Anycrap… look for more boring running blogs coming soon!