10 Miles and A Dog's Life

Today is Monday. After a long day of work and commuting, I arrived home to find my gorgeous man, my gorgeous dog, and...another gorgeous dog, the lovely Frankie (her owner was there, too). A few hours later, full of a delicious spinach and sausage soup, and sitting next to my beloved (and one rather obnoxiously but adorably snoring Dane), yesterday's 10 miles around Boston seems an eternity ago.

Some runs seem so easy to blog about, while others sort of drift away in the ether of the hours between unlacing the shoes and settling in to type. I can't say that yesterday was necessarily either of those, though. I guess this will be a bit of a play-by-play for starters.

Jared and I slept in for a bit, which is always a nice way to start a Sunday. We were bundled up and out the door before we knew it, though, and running casually down Mass Ave toward Harvard Square. In that first mile, we both lamented that we'd opted for fleeces on top of wicking undershirts, though Jared (rightly, as it turned out) pointed out that we'd likely be cold when we crossed over the river into Boston.

Our route was a new one, a sort of modified version of the 12-mile route we plan to do a running tour on later this week. That course is 12 miles, beginning in Brookline. Our modified version had us heading out from our digs in Cambridge, running down Mass Ave across the Charles. From there we'd hop on Comm Ave, before taking a marathon right onto Hereford, then a left, and the last corner of the marathon, onto Boylston. After crossing the finish line by the BPL, we headed left on Dartmouth, but made a quick right to jog a few blocks of Newbury Street to the Public Garden and Common.

From the Garden, we planned to head by the State House...and we did, but only after stopping to meet a SOLID blue mass of Danish love named Maximus. The Golden he was with was in for it, I'm sure...

After the State House, we hit a few main and side roads through Boston and into the North End, where, though my teeth were chatting, and fingers numb, I couldn't help but think of canolis and cappuccinos. Jared and I traded comments on this and that Italian joint, and tried to think of points of interest along the narrow streets. Before long, we found ourselves back by the Garden, then the Museum of Science (I marvel anew that I still haven't managed to get there for the Harry Potter exhibit).

As we headed back home along Cambridge street, we both began to realize just how tired--and cold (thank you, fleece)--we both were. With a few miles to go, we (or at least I) had begun fantasizing about the coffee at the end of the (frigid wind) tunnel.

In the end, of course, we made it, as we always do. It's funny how much you see of the city when you think to look deeper at it. While Jared and I logged our miles, we both took another look at what's become our city.

It's hard not to take for granted the marvels that we see everyday--the ancient brick, the crumbling graveyards of America's founders, the 16th-century pasture. So, too, do we sometimes take for granted our lives and our loved ones, how great we have it.

If I learned anything from yesterday's run, and I think that I did, it's to take a second look at those wonderful, wonderful things, places, and people around you. Be thankful for your job, even when you have a bad day. Be happy for your car, when you get stuck in traffic. Be grateful for a home and someone (not just someone, but the right someone) to love you while eating soup and waiting for your sweatpants to get out of the dryer. Take a look at the things that are always around you, and just plain marvel.