Adding Some Spice to my Life

by Serena Burla on November 21, 2011

Full marathon training is underway, and I have to chuckle as I think of all the ways I fall into the eat, sleep, run, repeat stereotyped runner image. My husband recently told me that I could just skip verbalizing that I’m tired at the end of the day because he already knows.  He is a saint for being married to a runner.

With that said, I am fortunate that my friends and family not only support my lifestyle as a runner, but also add spice to my life.  They help me keep things in perspective and know how to keep me well rounded and sane.  To all those who play that role in my, or another runner’s, life –A huge thank you!

Over the past few weeks I’ve been able to add some spice while putting in the physical and mental work necessary to prepare for the trials.  I’ve traveled to Atlanta to the Mizuno USA corporate office to meet the wonderful people behind the brand, and to join up with several other Mizuno runners for a photo shoot for Mizuno’s Fall/Winter 2012 running catalog.  We got a sneak peak at the 2012 line of shoes and clothes (be excited), and I sat in a huge Mizuno baseball glove chair at their office- not something you see or do every day.  I rocked a high pony tail and wore make up during a run and was called Barbie.  If we weren’t obsessing about how much we love pizza the whole trip, or fitting in our real runs, we might have passed as real models.  We were labeled “the real runners” by the models, and we taught them a thing or two about the function of small zip pockets in Mizuno’s running clothes for gels, extra toiletpaper in case your trusted port a potty is out, and other running personal items.

On a daily basis, Boyd adds flavor to my life.  I recently met with Boyd’s teachers and received a positive report. The same wonderful kid I know at home shows up at school too.  He’s a social butterfly who asks questions non stop.  He was invited to go on a field trip with the class just older than his, but I had to decline since they hadn’t seen him in an open setting with room to run.  Since they didn’t have time to train to keep up with him, and it’s family tradition anyway, my husband and I took him on a field trip to the pumpkin patch instead.  I went on my first potato sack barn slide ride with Boyd who was dressed in costume as Buzz Lightyear and we went on the best hayride to date.  

This past weekend, in honor of Veterans Day and warm weather, we went to the World War II Memorial.  Boyd loves fountains and was busy figuring out what made this one special.  We found the pillar for Virginia and Missouri for photo ops and then suddenly Boyd was ready to scale the walls.  He had spotted a bobcat and several other diggers.  We then parked ourselves on the outskirts of the mall with our faces pressed against the construction fence bordering the torn up reflecting pool.  This was Boyd’s favorite part.  After a while Boyd asked, “How do I get in there?  They need my help to drive the digger.”

I added some spice to my racing by hitting the track for the first time in 2.5 years at the AMC High Performance 10k in Indiana to seize an opportunity to hit a trials qualifying time.  I was several seconds off the A standard, but was grateful for the B standard, the chance to remember what it’s like to race on the track, and to just mix things up a little bit!  I must admit, I stuck with my Mizuno Wave Ronins rather than venturing into my Mizuno Osaka spikes.

Even my runs have had pizzazz.  A few Friday’s ago, following a run in Rock Creek park, one of my training partners invited a few of us to breakfast at her place where she had prepared a feast of traditional Ethiopian dishes.  There was true spice to this meal but the camaraderie was what I enjoyed most. I also learned a few dance moves. There is a reason I run (only one foot in front of the other rhythm for this girl), but I was given hope seeing that many of these moves were done using only the upper body.

Yesterday I crossed paths with the most jovial runner, and today a huge Buck came flying across the path in front of me. I uttered, “Wow!” out loud and hoped no hunter was in toe.

As I log the miles, recover, and repeat, I plan on continuing to add that element of zest to my daily recipe.  Time will tell which ingredient is next.