The Freshmen

These past few months, I've been getting back in touch with my teenage self with my return to running. I was chatting with a friend this weekend about my training, and she was very impressed when I told her I'd been training with the goal of running sub 9-minute miles so that I can beat my 1994 half-marathon time of 1:57. "Under two hours? That's like a serious runner's goal!"

Yes indeed, at one point I was a pretty serious runner, and this Spring, I'm attempting to reclaim that part of me. Yesterday I ran 11 miles, managing to stay within 30 seconds per mile of my race-day pace. On the way home in the car, I heard this song, and for whatever reason, it's one of my favorites:

For the life of me
I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
For the life of me
I cannot believe we'd ever die
For these sins
We were merely freshmen

Running was a big deal for me back then. Before I discovered yoga, before I was able to find any kind of peace within, running brought me a release, some control, some power -- all important, and yet elusive, things for a teenager to have:

We tried to wash our hands of all of this
We'd never talk of our lacking relationships
And how we're guilt-stricken sobbin' with our heads on the floor
We fell through the ice when we tried not to slip we'd say

Can't be held responsible
She was touchin' her face
I won't be held responsible
She fell in love in the first place

For the life of me
I cannot remember
What made us think that we were wise and we'd never compromise
For the life of me
I cannot believe we'd ever die
For these sins
We were merely freshmen
We were merely freshmen
We were only freshmen

I'm hoping my kids will be runners because of all the good things it did for me. I'm also hoping, as I mentioned on this blog a few posts ago, to start teaching yoga to teens. To help them find that place of freedom within their own bodies, minds and hearts. The most powerful freedom there is...