Transitions

The end of one year ... the beginning of another.  The reality of life is really just a series of transitions isn't it?  Growing up, growing older, growing wiser, stronger, faster.  These all require transitions and change.  Nothing seems to stay the same for long and as soon as you think you've found the sweet spot, life moves on again.  So it has been for me.  Many practical transitions for sure including relational, employment, physical relocation, spending 3/4 of the year healing from a stupid Achilles injury, and now I find myself in a new place.

When I was a kid, I remember playing on the monkey bars until my hands were blistered and bloody.  Swinging from bar to bar, the challenge was finding out the hard way how many bars I could successfully skip and still catch myself from falling.  Transition is a lot the same way.  There is the challenge of finding out how far you can reach and there is the catch of your breath as you are momentarily suspended between two bars, touching neither.  You could actually fall.  But of course, that is the challenge.  And that is the challenge also of transition.  Often you have to let go of something secure in order to reach something greater.

Running.  I thank my God that I can.  After a season of pain with every step, now every painless step is so appreciated.  Running has gotten me through many transitions and even though I still find myself suspended between the two bars, I am somehow stronger, and serene in the moment.  Not a feeling of panic, but a feeling of freedom and exhilaration.

I've had to slowly say goodbye to some of the most amazing people, my running buddies.  Anyone who runs with buddies knows how much of a camaraderie there is in such a group.  I will be meeting new running buddies.  I look forward to that too.  Another transition.

My name is Cindy.  I've been a competitive runner since I was 9.  I've now entered the era of my life when I get to be a Master runner.  Basically it just means I'm getting older.  But that doesn't mean I can't still get faster.  This blog begins today and will serve as a chronicle of my training, racing, and life within that context.  I've decided it will be an amazing journey.