Regress over a year ago into my life, and I was one who loathed change. I counted minutes. I pre-planned my advance plans, and had back up scenarios. I lacked the freedom I had sought for over 18 years.

Only those who intimately knew me before and after know what I speak of. I fail at conveying the dichotomy of my being again and again. Words and expressions can only convey what is received in the sensory world of communication.

I stand two days before another grand adventure of twenty six miles and three hundred eighty five yards. My family, my friends, and emotions are vested in this endeavor. It traverses the very area, that this dichotomy came to fruition. Thousands of miles over the same roads, are about to be re-visited.

Yet before this race, I have the chance to visit with special people, see new ideas, and gather new perceptions on what life entails.

In the last year, I can conceive of a handful of moments, when my world was rapidly altered - Sent in new directions, while providing a vivid sense of enlightenment.

One was following the most ill-placed running injury I had ever sustained:
The other was that sharp realization that balanced training incorporates new practices, and a great degree of fluidity.

On a cold rainy day at Franklin Park in the Boston suburb of Jamaica Plain, after running the first 2 miles in 2 weeks, a prudent runner simply told me

“When you come back, you want to be rewarded, not punished, for your obedience to your body”

The other was by a friend who now is among the closest.

“See this? This makes training become better. You’ll value it more. Trust me”

Both words are as clear now as they were then. They obliterated confusion. They provided a euphoric sense of relief. They changed my lifestyle anew, seeking whatever small satisfaction may be.

I’ve come to learn that life doesn’t peak, it merely rests. It doesn’t cease for the demands of timetables, deadlines or turning points. It merely adapts.

And at the end of this adaptation, clarity lies. I’ve seen both sides. And I’ve seen what happens when the tide is turned. And I’ll be damned if I drown in it.