closing time

tonight marks the conclusion of my first clinical in my last year of pt school.  while frantically packing my car and cleaning mitch's room, i began to reflect about how much i really enjoyed living there for the past 2 months.  i ran two of my best races, lived with an incredibly nice guy, learned my way around virginia beach, got to see the ocean daily, met some really interesting people, read 'a walk in the woods', joined a local gym filled with incredibly loyal customers and loose canines, and discovered a lot about myself as a therapist as well as a person.  i really am going to miss living there.
man, seeing the beach every day was such a treat.  every time i was out on a run, i made it a point to catch part of the oceanfront.  seeing the water, hearing the moving waves, and catching the sunrise casting along the shoreline never got old.  i loved watching the beach transfer from those random warm days in october to the blistery days in december with the holiday lights on display.  this morning before clinic, i ran on the beach covered in snow.  the snow was packed down enough so that it was a soft ride but not too soft.  the sky was filled with different colored clouds that left patches of blue in between each other so it was so beautiful.  the sun shot different rays all over the place like separate daggers.  i was blown away and felt so thankful to be there for that moment.
these past 2 months have flown by and i know the 2 weeks i have off for winter break are going to go even faster.  i am really looking forward to cincinnati.  i love exploring these new places that may not seem exciting to most people but to me, they are unmarked territory waiting to be claimed!

gym burps are gross

being that this week is supposed to be a little break from running, i decided to hit wareings gym.  that place cracks me up with its old equipment, old building, and mostly old people that go there.  some people looked like they were around my age but they were few and far between.  i felt like i got weird stares from many because i wasn't someone they're used to seeing every day.  all of these people know each other!  it's pretty amazing for fellow committed gym goers, not so much for visitors.  i rowed a little then jumped on a stationary bike for a little more.  the old man next to me was so kind as to burp every few minutes, which was easily smelled and practically tasted by his cycling neighbor, me.  i wanted to throw up.  afterwards, i decided to meander around looking for the typical weights or machines i usually do when one of the family member workers (the same guy that gave me a tour of the place in the beginning) came up to me asking if i'm just there to do random stuff.  i was trying to explain that i was resting from running and he kept egging me on about why i'm there doing what i'm doing so finally i said, sounds like you're trying to go somewhere with this.  next thing i know i'm doing this mini circuit of single leg squats, side lunges, and jumps.  so much for resting my legs.  they were nice and shaky from that treatment.  i have plans to revisit the gym in the morning but i can already feel the aches coming on all over my body.  that's not going to go over so well by 7 a.m. but when i can't run, i have no other choice but to return to that little place.  all in all, it was nice being around people that weren't complaining to me about whatever pain they were having.  it almost made me regret not going more during the past month and a half i've been here... almost, not quite.

2 more to go

the weekend is already over!  they're notorious for acting that way.  i ran the surf n santa 10 miler on saturday and it was a great race for me.  the weather and the wind were a bear but i was satisfied with my time of 1:06.  the weird thing is i really think i could have gone faster but i didn't know how hard to kick in the end because there was a weird wrap around to the finish line, which was inside the convention center.  on top of that, i had to weave through the people that were heading towards their 7th mile so that slowed me down a tad as well.  excuses excuses.  so this will be my second to last week living at the beach.  i can't believe it has gone by so quickly.  i have gotten to know virginia beach so much more than i ever thought i would, which has been so nice.  i'm not sure if i like it here because i know i'm not staying long or if the place has truly grown on me.  living at the beach in the late fall/early winter can never be appreciated to it's potential in the summer but i have made the most of it.  when i think about it all, i just get really tired.  i have been challenged almost every day at my clinical, trained for and ran two of my best races thus far, and saw one of my favorite artists perform, joanna newsom.  i have spent time with old friends, got to know new ones, and found places i never knew existed.  

i'm optimistic about the future.  anyone who is not is a fool.