Hot and Cold, North and South

Day 55: 5 miles.
Day 56: 1 mile. X-Train.
Day 57: 5 miles.
Day 58: 1 mile.
Day 59: 1 mile.
Day 60: 9 miles.
Day 61: 1 mile.

My body hurts.  That's been the theme of the last week and a half.  My back was sore from a X-Train workout with Howard, my left achilles was sore last week and yesterday my left knee and right hip started aching around mile seven and a half.  I've backed off as much as possible without sacrificing my training and I'm hoping that the next two and a half weeks pass without incident or injury.  I keep telling my legs and feet that they will get a break after November 7th.

We talk a lot about We ask a lot of questions about communities at the Y: how do we build them, how do we strengthen them, who belongs to them?  Over the last two or three weeks I've started to notice the community of other runners and walkers moving around the same streets and sidewalks I pound down every day.  Some are out with dogs, some with friends and some are much faster than me and lighter on their feet.  The latter group tends to scare the crap out of me when they pass.  If I turned my music down I might here them coming but I think they like frightening me.

By calling this group of people a community I'm doing a disservice to true running communities out there--those who run and train together and get to know about families and pets and likes and dislikes, hopes, dreams and all that.  But even a tenuous community of like-minded people can be good support.

For example: I was in Boston a few weekends ago and I went for a run around the Charles River near our friends' apartment.  I passed  no less than 20 other runners, walkers and dog walkers and not a single one waved to me, said hello or even smiled.  Normally I would have done any one, if not all, of these gestures but, after little to no reaction from each passing face, I decided to do as a local and I ignored every other human unless I was passing them.  Now, those of you born and raised in the South are automatically saying, out loud, right at your computer screens "Stupid, inconsiderate, unfriendly Northerners," and you may be right.  My wonderful, beautiful bride hails from Connecticut and I was raised by Yankees so I'm partial to people who come from above the Mason-Dixon line.  But I think the cool reception I got on my run was due to the fact that over 600,000 people live in Boston and about 100,000 of them run along the Charles River on a regular basis.  That's hardly fertile ground for a community feel to grow.

Back in Raleigh, in a neighborhood infintely smaller than most in Boston, Seeing people out on a greenway trail or on the same piece of sidewalk is cause for greeting, small though it may be.  And yes, there's something to be said for Southern charm and hospitality which I would give even more credence if I believed that the majority of people living in our neighborhood were NOT born in northern latitudes.

And these smiles, nods, waves and "hello"s make it easier to run 9 miles when my knee hurts, my feet are blistering, and I could use some water.

I'm rambling.  Do you say hello to strangers on the street?  Do you smile at people just because they're near you? Why not?

Ryan