One Last Run

Week of May 13, 2012:

Sunday: Long run! (40 minutes)

Monday: Off

Tuesday: Slept 13 hours

Wednesday: Bike commute + errands

Thursday: Bike commute

Friday: Went for a leisurely walk to The Home Depot

Saturday: Biked for groceries + yoga/strength session

Week of May 20, 2012:

Sunday: Long run—the last one with Christy, for now… :-(

Tap tap tap…is this blog on?  I didn’t mean to let an entire week go by between posts, but such is life with a full-time job, two blogs (ridiculous, I know), and some illness.

Let’s talk about running and friendship.  My friend Christy is leaving College Station to take a new job, and we’re all excited for her.  It’s a bittersweet departure, though, because our group of friends has had so much fun together.  I started spending time with Christy’s gang about ten months ago, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I would still be in College Station in 2012.  There was a good chance that I’d be leaving before Christy because I would be nudged onto the job market.  But Christy hit the market before me, and she’s off to join the Navy.

(The Navy!  I know!  She’s the first woman I’ve ever known who joined the military.  It’s such an interesting decision, and I look forward to hearing more about it after Christy starts her next adventure.)

You might recall that at the end of 2011, Christy and I were training for a half-marathon together, but she was sidelined by an injury, and I ended up doing the race by myself.  Today, for the first time in months, we ran together again.  I wanted to get 40 minutes under my running feet, and we ran about half of that together before Christy sent me on my way so she could walk.  Her hip was bothering her again, and she didn’t want to antagonize it.  (I don’t blame her.)  It was nice to have a friend with me this morning, and it felt like a nod to all the other mornings we had run together.  But this one will be the last one for a long time.

To be honest, I think I’m in denial about her leaving.  Christy has been my partner in crime, my adventure buddy, my favorite woman with whom to drink wine.  We just have fun together.  It’s hard to describe the dynamic between us, but I think because we are both female American scientists, there’s just something that clicks.  Maybe friendship doesn’t need to be explained when it works; you can enjoy it without analyzing it.  That’s how it feels with Christy.

This afternoon, on my way home from the lab, I stopped by the garden and took the photos above.  I was thinking about Christy and what to give her as a farewell gift, and I started crying.  I was overwhelmed by the sense of loneliness I felt as I thought about life around here without her.  I know that we adjust to new circumstances, and as old people leave, new people arrive.  But I think I’m going to feel her absence for a long time after she leaves.  There was something so reassuring about knowing she was always ready for an adventure, a meal, a “let’s hang out together.”  I’ll miss the ease of our local friendship.  But!  We’re already making plans to travel together.  She told me to get a passport, and to get ready, because this is not the end of our friendship. 

I hope she’s right.  {sniffle sniffle}