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I got out for a bike ride yesterday, actually it was on the brisk side and the winds were ornery but still, I’m riding on borrowed time weather-wise so I’ll take any ride I can get.
I rode Blanche, the trusty road bike more than ever this year, most likely due to injury. Funny how sometimes adversity forces us to do things we end up loving.
I rode out to an area I used to run with Thing 2 in the jog stroller, then alone while she went to preschool. All those memories came flooding back as I rode now, instead of ran, along these familiar streets.
I remembered how I was training for my second marathon, entertaining the possibility of a BQ but being too new to the the whole marathon world to have any realistic clue if that was remotely possible. My workouts in these streets inevitably were tempo runs or speedwork. I remember how strong my legs felt then: like uncoiling steel. I remember the tight schedule I was on and the stress I felt because of that. I had to be done and back before preschool let out. I ran the exact route week after week: picked up my pace at the same oak tree; recovered over the same single lane, covered bridge. It was amazing how strong these memories came back just by being here.
That was then: 3+ years ago.
Now here I am, tooling around on a bike of all things. And loving it. My morning schedule has opened up a bit. The BQ’s are a reality, and now?
Rather than get all melancholy about the whole passage of time thing–is this a function of my advancing age, change of seasons, end of year? Do you get like this too? I decided to be a little more adventurous on my bike, since I had a smidge more time and I wasn’t running afterall. I turned off my beaten, familiar path. I ventured onto new roads, uncharted (for me) pathways. Maybe I’d be back here to run someday when I ramp up my mileage again. Roads I’d never had the time to explore because I was on a mission and too pressed for time.
The air was crisp and carried the scent of burning leaves. There’s so much out there left to be explored, literally and figuratively. Like everything in life, it’s a matter of balance: cherishing but not dwelling on the memories we have, enjoying the here and now, and keeping an open mind and heart to future possibilities.
Where will running and riding and life take me over the next 3 years? Or 10 years? Or 30? I suppose that’s for me to find out. For now I’m enjoying where I am. Right. Now.
