Grueling Seasons, Cherished Memories

I just dropped off my daughter, a junior in high school (and a terrific, talented actor), for a post-production cast party at the home of her drama teacher.  The production was an ambitious musical adaptation of the Cinderella fairy tale, complete with a Rodgers and Hammerstein score.  There were nine grueling performances, and the cast I'm sure is relieved to be over and done with it (although in retrospect they'll most likely cherish the memories).  So their "season" of auditioning, memorizing lines, learning songs and choreography, rehearsing, performing, and (now) celebrating this play is almost over.  I, too, experienced memories of an old bygone (and grueling) personal season of sorts when I drove through the party site's neighborhood: I hadn't been there since I had trained for and run my first marathon in late 2010 and early 2011.

For several weeks back then, I was building up my running distance by devising new extensions to my already-established course.  I did this largely by running in different subdivisions further and further west from my home (which was the start/end point).  In the end, during the longest runs comprising 15+ miles, I entered this relatively distant neighborhood, comprised of large, older homes well spaced apart on sloping, winding roads and interspersed with pretty woods.  Although I was usually tired by the time I reached this area on those runs, I always looked forward to running through the beautiful surroundings.  I also remember what I was always playing on my MP3 as I ran: a shuffle of Radiohead songs spanning all of their studio albums (along with some "extras"). To this day, when I hear one of those songs, it often takes me back to that era (and area)...

I think that sometimes we may conclude that a worthy, fulfilling experience is closed off from us ever repeating due to some adverse circumstances that come along and trip us up (what I call the "obdurate future" with recognition to Stephen King).  My super-long training runs back then, topped off by that 26.6-mile run on 1/15/11 (and passing through that aforementioned neighborhood), were largely physically unpleasant but satisfying to me on a deep, personal level.  But even should I decide not to repeat the goal of training for marathons in the future, outside circumstances or not, I can still run (or even just walk) through that subdivision and experience its beauty through the simple expedient of parking in either a nearby shopping center or church parking lot and using that as a closer starting point for my running (or walking)...

But of course, part of the whole experience was my outrageous goal of running a marathon at age 54 and those long, long sessions on the road. Who knows what the future may bring: there may be other kinds of similar "marathon"-caliber endeavors on the horizon for me, although they'll probably have absolutely nothing to do with running!