Going the Distance, Part 4

On February 10
during the week following the 26-mile Celebration Run, I
returned to Los Angeles to make the eight-mile Recovery Run.
It was a much more intimate run than the previous
weekend. I rejoined the pace group I ran with the week
before, but there were only four of us. The route took
us past Disney Studios and Warner Bros. in Burbank. Though
the run was quiet and went quickly, Matt and his
serenading were conspicuously absent.

The weather here
in Las Vegas where I live seems to be warming up a bit.
That makes it more tolerable to run outdoors -- where I
prefer to be -- as opposed to running on the treadmill
indoors. In the meantime I continue my work as a
substitute teacher. I work mostly with autism but
lately have considered a change of profession. I love
subbing and working with autistic children, but after
five years I am feeling compassion fatigue. I think I
need a change. I am also busy working on my MBA,
which takes up much of my time.

Running gives me
a break from these things. When I run, I am able to
escape from everything. It’s quite a release. With
less than a month left of training, I don't know what
I will do after the marathon. There are other
marathons as well as shorter runs I can do. But nothing can
compare to the experience of training with the
National AIDS Marathon Training Program.