Where did all the Sundays go?

As the Sunday Long Run season has progressed, my Sundays seem to have disappeared.

For the past month all of our Sunday Long Runs have been over 16 miles. This means about three hours of running time on average. Then there is the time to get to the run, time spent hanging out after running and getting back home.

Even a 14 mile run turns into a four-hour production by the time you figure in transportation time. When a group of us went to New Bedford for the New Bedford Half Marathon I was gone about seven hours! Week after week, the things that do not get done start to pile up.

The most obvious pile is my Sunday newspaper. When I get home from my run, I shower and get dressed, get something to eat and drink and then sit down. I give my self about an hour to watch Face The Nation and skim through the first two sections of the Boston Sunday Globe. Unread sections end up on the living room coffee table. No photos of that for your amusement. 😉 The growing pile is a daily reminder of how much time I am spending running.

With three weeks to go to The Boston Marathon, I am looking forward to the taper week Sunday runs. These will be 14.8 and 12.5 miles. Even the 12.5 miler will be a 3-4 hour affair. As races get close, runners like to hang out and trade war stories, commiserate and eat. Runners love to eat. Almost as much as we like to talk. Even a shorter run, i.e. 12.5 miles, will take most of my Sunday.

After The Boston Marathon I’ll only run on Sundays when I want to. Maybe we’ll go out to Lexington again and run through the park. Maybe I’ll watch all the Sunday news shows and drink a whole pot of coffee. There will be the occasional Sunday 5K or 10K also.

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy training and feeling my self getting stronger and faster. Seeing tangible results is very rewarding. I also enjoy hanging out with my friends and making new friends. It really is a good time. But it just takes so much time.

I’ve come to the realization that I’m never going to read those interesting stories in the Boston Sunday Globe. It’s just not going to happen. Last year I tossed many un-read Economist and Atlantic Monthly’s in the recycle bin. They were just piling up while I was out running. I really enjoyed those magazines when I had the time to read them.

I ended up not renewing my subscriptions to those magazines because I have too many other things to do. I also cut my Sunday news programs from three to one. I’m not going to cancel The Globe, but I am going to recycle those papers that have been collecting. I’ve got running to do.

Run well my Friends,

Andy

© 2014 anagelin