Reporting Live From My Couch

I have moved from the couch today, but mostly just to refill my coffee mug and grab the cord for my laptop. But before you think I’ve just spending the day relaxing, it’s really because I’m recovering from yesterday’s 10-mile race.

That’s right! I finished my first 10-miler yesterday, and I hit my goal time (sub-2 hours)!

I was supposed to run the same race last year, but ended up catching a nasty sinus thing/cold and had to drop down to a shorter distance. So this year, I was DETERMINED to train for and finish the full distance. Thankfully, I remained healthy, injury-free, and was able to complete all but 1 run in my training plan, setting myself up for a truly fun and successful race.

Over the past few weeks, as I’ve started a new job and met a lot of new people, I’ve been asked what I like to do for fun or how I spend my free time. I keep finding myself hesitating to call myself a “runner”, and I feel like there are a couple of reasons.

The first is that I’m not fast. I know that there are elite runners who finish entire marathons in the time that it takes me to run a half-marathon. It feels silly to put myself in the same category as those athletes, even though it shouldn’t. Ten miles is the same distance for everyone, and running slower just means I have to spend even more time to reach my goals.

The other reason I have a hard time labeling myself a “runner” is that there’s something about it that feels like I’m defining myself by an activity. And that seems to be something the resonates beyond running. For example, I never call myself a “writer” either, even though I am one. Only since publishing my book have an occasionally called myself an “author”, and it still feels like a title I might not have truly earned.

I think that’s what it really boils down to: have I earned the title of runner, writer, author, etc?

What I am reminded of after races like yesterday is that it’s okay to be proud of my achievements. Training for and finishing a 10-mile race does make me a runner. Just like my book make me a published author. Perhaps there will be a day when those accomplishments are not the first thing people ask me about, but they are still a part of my lore (and I have so much lore).

So here’s to calling myself a runner. Because let’s be honest, I’m going to do a race like this again. The half-marathon in the fall is already calling my name.

But first a day (or a week) on the couch is in order. My legs have earned a rest.

What am I writing lately? Not much. I have been doing A LOT of thinking about/plotting out stories in my head over the last couple weeks though. So if you want to read more fiction/poems/things by me, feel free to start bugging me to write for you. Sometimes I need a little external motivation to actually put fingers to keyboards.

I will take any and all prompt suggestions, though I can’t promise the results will be good or exactly what you had in mind.

Can someone send me some good spring/summer/grilling recipes? My rotation of meals is very boring right now.

When Luna woke me up at 6:30 this morning, I promised myself I was going to finish at least one book today. But 25 pages into reading “The Slippery Slope” (Book 10 in Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events), I could not keep my eyes open. As soon as I finish writing this newsletter, I’ll be back to reading it!

I am trying to finish the read of the series before Memorial Day weekend so that I can dive into some summer/beachy reads ASAP!

Does a $7 Crave Box from Taco Bell count? I stan a Beefy 5-Layer Burrito. The only downside was that they didn’t follow through on my "request for “no lettuce.” I' detest iceberg lettuce. I want my salad greens to have flavor!!! (Looking at arugula!)

I promise to attempt a good recipe this week (seriously, please send me some), and I’ll report on my success/failure in next week’s missive.

I NEED STORES TO START SELLING DENIM SHORTS THAT ARE NOT RAW-EDGE/FRAYED!!!! I’M WASTING HOURS OF MY LIFE SHOPPING FOR SHORTS! PLEASE! I AM BEGGING YOU!!!!