Somehow winter break seems to feel simultaneously too long and not at all long enough. The week between Christmas and New Year's seemed to drag on, and I found myself increasingly missing BC. I'm not sure what happened or what exactly I did, but before I could even realize it, the final day of break arrived and there was an overwhelming amount of things I had been avoiding. A mountain of laundry, growing at an alarming speed after shedding way-too-many layers after each run and several shifts at the Gap, needed washing. Books needed ordering for syllabi I hadn't even seen. Late Christmas gifts had to be found and purchased. Three weeks spent at home and all I had to show for it were a few completed books, a few checks, and a surprising amount of empty Chobani containers.All right, I guess the first two weeks of training I completed were satisfactory. I only had easy mileage scheduled, which meant that most runs were pretty enjoyable. After a fall I had before Christmas, my knee was still sore during the first week. After runs I would end up hobbling around before the soreness would subside, and I would end up icing my knee with bags of frozen vegetables under the light of the Christmas tree in the evenings. During the second week my pain subsided almost completely during the run, but post-run soreness was still a thing. I'm relieved that I was able to only have easy mileage when getting back into the swing of training. Moreover, to begin an important block of training back home felt right.
For as repetitive as my routes seem or for however many times I've run all of them, there's something significant in that familiarity, the roads, the neighbors, the sights. Running down streets and greeting family and friends. Passing cars driven by people you know. Seeing how things have stayed the same, how some have changed. Surrounding the entire valley, the mountains still astoundingly beautiful no matter the season. The sky as big as it always seemed. Feels like home on the run. The streets on which I've run for years now and the inhabitants who have always waved and the reliable sights.
Without the stressors of school running is to schedule. I'm able to focus so much more on training entirely, a composite of nutrition, rest, and running that is difficult to maintain at college. As a morning person, there are few things more enjoyable than waking up and being able to enjoy a cup of coffee and the newspaper crossword before a run. Restricted occasionally by accidentally sleeping in and that Polar Vortex and the unplowed roads (which somehow seem to remain uncleared long after storms have passed), the morning run was something I'm able to appreciate more slowly and fully at home then at school. No longer rushed to finish with enough time for eating and class and meetings, more easily I would unwind on the runs, finding a rhythm on hard packed streets of snow, rerunning the routes almost by instinct.
At home with the access of a car and other friends who run, it's easier to change the dynamics of the run though. Though I've been at BC for two years now, my knowledge of routes at home dwarves the roads I run at school. The trails I've run down with my high school cross country team still feel like home, no matter the season and no matter the race for which I'm training. My favorite trails and roads with the best of views are always a comfort. There's nothing like returning for break though, and being able to run with friends. It's almost like no run is long enough to recap what has happened recently, and running always feels easier with a friend. I usually run alone, but to run with friends is one of the most enjoyable simple pleasures.
Being able to run on the streets on which I grew up (both as a kid and as a runner) feels nostalgic. Remembering the games of jailbreak we would play nightly in the summer. The shorter routes I initially struggled to complete. The walks around town in the summer. On those roads the past seems to be almost in the pavement (even if some potholes have been filled, some roads repaved). There's nothing like being aware of how far you've come. Home has it all -- the support of family, the familiarity of routes, the reconnection with friends, the low level of stress. Unplowed roads and sidewalks, occasionally inconsiderate drivers, negative-30 degree wind chills aside, I guess there really is no place like home (and no place I'd rather train). Except occasionally during those blizzards and Polar Vortexes.
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