Am I crazy?

I walked out passing a group of students crowded together in the vestibule. I received the familiar look that says “He is going to run in this weather? He must be a little bit crazy”. I loosened up my stride as I ran down Circuit Street. I was trying to be very aware of my mind and body on this very wet dark evening.

I checked in on my form right away. “Pockets and Potato Chips” (This was the phrase that I used to remind my athletes of their arms and hands as they ran. Were their hands gliding just off of their pockets? Were their hands held together in a relaxed manner so that they could hold a potato chip, but not break it?). My arms felt incredibly smooth and relaxed as I darted across the street. My mental typewriter was typing with the exact same cadence as my stride. I realized that this was going to be an incredible run and the my mind was going to meander through memories of the past, thoughts of the future, and brief snapshots of the present.

I made my way down Washington St, and then made a left making my way toward the Reggie Lewis Center. I realized that I had to pay a little bit more attention to the present then I would normally desire on a run like this, but that my magical “Stop Car” hand might not be effective on wet night, during rush hour in Boston. As I turned right onto Tremont Street making my way downtown, I noticed the rain in the street lights and smiled, thinking of a friend who would enjoy this wonderful sight on this wet dark evening. I continued down Tremont, trying to map out my route for the evening, but unable to be decisive I decided I would let a colder, wetter me make those decisions. I knew that I would end up back at my school. It made me think of all the journeys that people take in life. Sometimes we end up back where we started, but my hope would be that even though we know where we might end up that we can end up changed for the better based on how we go through our journey.

I realized that I was smiling a great deal. I wonder what the passing drivers were thinking as I waited at the traffic light doing something somewhere between a dance move and running in place. My smile grew as I thought of some of my best friends in the world and the way that putting one foot in front of the other for long periods of time made us connected in ways that many people could never understand.

As my mind floated back to the present, I realized I was approaching Boston Common and I was being blessed with one of my favorite sights. It was the sight of steam coming up from a sewer cap, and for some reason it just really makes me happy to live in a city.

I continued to assess my stride, “Pockets and Potato Chips”.

My journey around the park led me into Downtown Crossing. It was raining and it is still before Thanksgiving, but Downtown Crossing was filled with Big Stars lighting up the entire area with holiday joy. My mind began to echo with the crisp sound of Justin Bieber’s “Little Drummer Boy”. Somehow I emerged near City Hall and I found myself looping pass the TD Garden and into Beacon Hill. I was excited that my mental typewriter was still typing away and hoped that somehow by me doing something that I love on a daily basis and writing about it that it could make people happier and excited about all of the great things that we get to do on daily basis. As I made my way up and down the narrow streets of Beacon Hill, my mind transplanted itself into the plot of a generic Hugh Grant romantic comedy where, in classic Hugh form, he has some very climatic conversation about love in the rain in a park. I smiled as I made my way out of Beacon Hill wondering why enjoyed Hugh Grant films as much I do (Love Actually, 9 Months, and 4 Weddings and a Funeral are my top 3 if anyone is wondering).

I made my way along Commonwealth Ave wondering what kind of job does someone have that lives in these incredibly amazing homes.

This thought was very fleeting as I checked in on my stride again, “Pockets and Potato Chips”. My stride was still very smooth, but I came to a very harsh realization that the very wet conditions, and length of the run had led to some serious nipple chaffing.

(Your reaction to that last sentence of writing is probably going to be the biggest determinant of how many more times you read this blog. If you enjoyed it and it made you laugh and/or smile, then congrats you will probably be reading this blog until the day you die. If you were disgusted with it, then you probably didn’t even continue reading to this sentence)

I moved onto Mass Ave, fighting through a lot of pedestrian traffic and the sound of cars honking in frustration to the inevitable traffic that you would have on a wet night. I smiled realizing that I was having much more fun then anyone sitting in traffic.

I turned down Washington St and realized that my run was going to be over in about 10 minutes and how I was so happy that I got to spend some good quality time with myself. I then came to another realization, which was that I must have washed my pants with too much detergent because my soaked pants were beginning to foam up as I strode through Dudley.

I finished strong up to my school and thought back to my students in the vestibule. I wondered about myself, “Am I crazy?” I wasn’t sure about that, but I did know one thing; that this putting one leg in front of the other for a really long time really made me quite happy!

Thank you to anyone and everyone that I have shared a run with!