August 5th, 2006
The joy of running and the Durham Farmers’ Market!
This morning was the first official day of the 18-week half marathon training program, attended by an impressive number of serious runners - 40 or 50 of us, I would say! A handful of them are training for a full marathon, the rest of us for the half. I had a great run with six others in my pace group, four of whom I just met today - all really nice people! A runner’s training pace is always slower than her race pace. Right now our group is training at 10-minute miles; our race pace is between 9 and 9.5, depending on the heat, humidity and the length and layout of the course.
Today was my first time running in a week and a half, as I’d been out sick with a cold. It made me (re-)realize how great running makes me feel! Yes, my biggest motivation is the enormous mental health benefit I get from sweating, panting and putting in all the effort on those trails and hills. Gotta love that runner’s high!
My favorite part of the day was visiting the Durham Farmers’ Market in downtown Durham right after running. Couldn’t believe I’d never been before. What fun! Bought green onions, tomatos, eggs and fresh-cut flowers, all organic and directly from the farmers who grew them. As much as I can from here on out, I’ll try to make sure all the gifts I buy for others are local-made things from the Farmers’ Market - I think this is the best way to support local arts/crafts.
Hope ya’ll are having a good weekend.