The F-Word

No, not that F-word.

FOOD!

So I've started running again and I have to say that one of the drawbacks (or benefits, depending on what side of the fork you're on) is that I am constantly voracious. This is a little surprising to me since I've only been on 3 runs since my winter hiatus. But if you utter the words "tempura udon" around me I will never rest until I get a bowl of that. Same goes for "chili dog" or "hamburger" or "burrito." Heck it's just better if you don't mention any food-words around me at all. I've been a little worried that age and genetics are catching up to me, but I know that if I keep running, I'll end up being that gristly thing I used to be when I was training for Bay to Breakers the first time. 

But really, I am trying to improve myself. It is not easy, given the fact that work keeps me chained to my chair all day (but I do go out on daily lunch-hour walks--hey, doesn't that remind you of prison?) and that other things in my life keep me occupied (like taiko, or catching up on all the Oscar-nominated movies, or that other thing I don't get enough of--sleep!). But spring is in the air, thanks to global warming, and my future and humanity are creeping up on me. I don't want to be on medication before I'm 50.  I don't want a cane. I don't want to ever, and I mean ever, talk to you about fiber. 

So running it is. It doesn't solve everything life throws at you, but it makes you feel good. I was trying to think of reasons not to go running all afternoon, but at 4:45, 15 minutes before work was over, I realized that any excuse I had was just lame, and I begrudgingly changed into my workout clothes, begrudgingly laced up my dorky running shoes (silver! egad!), and plugged the ipod into my head and plodded off into the dying January daylight. That's the one thing I like about running, the ease of it. All you need to do to be a runner is to take that first step, and all the other steps fall into line. You just go left-right-left-right until you've met your goal. The only hard part is occupying your mind in the meantime. Me--I like to listen to music and take in the world around me. At this time of the year, the last rays of the sun hit the treetops straight on, so that they are seemingly lit by an internal fire, and the white, puffy clouds take on a pinkish tinge, and the young undergrads huddle beneath their winter coats rushing off to dinner singly and in pairs before long nights in the library. It sure does feel good afterward, steaming in the winter air, your muscles loose and hot, more miles under your belt, moving closer to the goal you've set out or yourself. But step aside, yo, I'm hungry!