Accoutability

I love this time of year. There, I've said it. The leaves are off the trees (if only barely, thanks to last night's southerly breeze), leaden skies promise rain and cooler weather to come, daylight dwindles to about ten hours. It can be cold, wet, dreary. Great days for setting down with a good book and hot (or warming) beverage by a crackling fire. But I've got other thoughts in mind. As ever.

Before I charge headlong into plans for the next few months, a pause to reflect: ever since childhood, I've loved this time of year. When I was a kid, my family traveled to western Pennsylvania for Thanksgiving with my great aunts. With fondness I remember lining up for the Christmas parade in "downtown" Greensburg, visiting with family and friends, playing with my Mom's and uncle's childhood games and toys, visiting local malls decked out in full holiday trim. And food: jellied cranberry, pickled watermelon rind, pumpkin and mince meat pies, raisin cookies. Some or most of those foods I didn't -- and still don't -- eat. But the memories are pleasant nonetheless. Fond, if hazy, memories.

Fast forward a few years (OK, decades). I've lived in Atlanta now for about half a decade. Thanksgiving has been spent more with friends than family. Traditions now center more on running than travel, family, and food. I've run my two best half marathon times on Thanksgiving day here in Atlanta. Thanks to the Morning Run folks, this new tradition tempered the the loss associated with the passing of the childhood traditions. And a couple of those years, there was yummy pizza as a no-fuss alternative to the excess of the Thanksgiving feat. These, too, are pleasant memories.

This year's Thanksgiving has been special, though. It combined the best of both traditions: family and running. There has been so much transition for me in this past year. A year ago I could not have foreseen the joy the 2008 edition of the holiday could bring. But yesterday I enjoyed running, a pleasant 10K in Marietta with my beloved L and her parents, and the pleasure of a good meal with family. L's parents drove in from SC on Wednesday and are joining us for the weekend. It's been a joy to spend easygoing time with this new family, and it holds great promise for the years to come. I'll take short days and gray, drear weather for the warmth of familial love.

So there is much for which to be thankful (and I am). And even more to look forward to (and I do). The weeks ahead promise birthdays, more holidays, travel, and training. Yes, I said training. I'm finally getting back in the swing of things after injuring my left hamstring this past summer. I've been running consistently for the past several weeks and ran the Gobble Jog easily (and only a few minutes slower than my Peachtree time). I'm pointing to the ING full in March, and guess what. Yes, training starts officially on Monday. Already. But I'm ready this year. The new "traditions" that I'm enjoying this year include a kind of support -- including a running partner and Pilates instructor -- that I haven't experienced before. With her love and encouragement, I will complete my training and run my marathon PR at ING. Accountability never felt so good or so right.

I'll try to keep up with my progress here. My pattern has been for blogging and training to walk (sadly not run) in lock-step. Odds are that I'll that more likely PR in March if I'm reporting regularly here. In that, too, there is a kind of accountability.