10k Sunday Beach Run

ERA of ……WTF………………joy and resistance

I'm still working on getting ready for the fall semester and dealing with the end of summer. I don't know what happened with the time. I'm getting ready and trying to make a writing deadline. In the process, I should be training for the Good Life Halfsy, a half marathon in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's 11 weeks away. My goal is to be stronger.

Last week's training plan called for 18 miles for the week. Did that happen? No. I got in three miles with track on Tuesday. Strength training twice a week, I ran almost 5 miles (4.73) on Thursday, and 10k today. Week one, I ran under 14 miles. This week, 18 miles is the goal for week two of training. I realize it's about the consistency of mileage — I need to work on that. It's not like I haven't been down that road before.

This morning, I went to Revere Beach because I knew it would be a 10k. It's been a long while since I ran on the beach. It was a pleasant 65 degrees and overcast when I got there at 6:45 a.m.

The goal was to run a mile, then switch to 3-1 interval running. What I noticed with my body: it took until mile 2, almost at a 5k, before I found my stride. I made a note to be aware of that. After mile three, I was in a good rhythm and didn't feel tired.

I saw people running, walking their dogs, and I thought I saw people convening to run — looked like they were part of a run club. I should have stopped and asked, but I was in a flow.

As I was running, I was thinking about wedding planning, school prep, and Gary, Indiana. The overt and intense anti-Blackness makes me so angry. How the Supreme Court okayed a ballroom without Congressional approval while gas and food prices are high, while people are struggling, and national parks are being destroyed — it's beyond insane. I can't be silent on these things. But I can't fix them all. Running along the beach gives me time to breathe, think, and just listen to the sound of the water. It's a privilege to listen to water and run — run quietly. There is joy and power in that.

As I start to train for this half, I'll take the 6.18 miles at an 11:53 pace, 1:13:27 time.