Breathless

The past few weeks have been eventful ones and the next couple promise more of the same: holiday parties seem to be happening every other day; Christmas shopping has infringed on most of my weekend time; we’re taking a red-eye flight to Paris on Friday that is sure to be stressful and tiring (even though it will constitute my first ever trip on a double-decker airplane). Most importantly of all, I’ve been absolutely awestruck by the fact that one of my dear friends, Jessica, became the proud (and most capable!) mother to a beautiful baby girl five days ago. Lately, I’ve been left breathless with all that I have to do and think about.

It was therefore a bit of sweet relief to run alone this morning (something that I rarely do these days) and, with no offense to my husband, it was a nice change of pace in every sense of the word. Zdenek has gone, in about six months, from being slightly less fit than me over distances longer than four or five miles, to matching my every stride on runs up to 10 miles long, to being a faster, stronger runner than me over distances from 100 meters up to 15 miles (we’ve yet to run further than that together). I shouldn’t complain -- it was me, after all, who gently encouraged his running habit over the past five years -- but I am often left to feel like a weak girl who can’t keep up. Our runs together frequently leave me tired, frustrated, or both. To make matters worse, lately my legs have begun to feel lead-like and sluggish. Though I’m sure I’m just in need of more rest, a day off seems to make little difference and I find my breathing labored and my muscles stiff almost every single run.

But this morning, as Zdenek nursed his hangover and requested an extra hour of sleep, I ignored the achy feeling in my legs and quietly slipped out of bed to brew a cup of coffee. Thirty minutes later, I was in Central Park on a clear, cold December morning. For almost 60 minutes I ran in solitude, never looking at my watch, slowing down when I needed to, pushing the pace when the mood struck me (which wasn't that often). (And as it turns out, I didn't run that much more slowly than I do with Zdenek by my side.) To be sure, it was still a difficult run -- I barely moved up Harlem Hill and had a hard time finding my stride against the strong winds -- and today's seven miles left me breathless. They were, however, the perfect antidote to a busy few weeks.

(Congratulations, again, Jessica and Adam!)