After a few relaxing days in Portage, the moving stress began again. The minivan was stuffed to the gills with bookshelves, clothes, bikes, and other items that would not fit in my vehicle. The remaining miscellanea was stuffed into my vehicle and so began my move to Albany, NY; my life's possessions somehow packed into two vehicles. Needless to say, after all that driving through MI, I was none too excited for the 700mi trans-Canada journey. With my girlfriend next to me, my parents behind me in the minivan, and my pet Chinchilla in the backseat, we set off early, well before sunrise.
We arrived in Albany well after sundown and proceeded to feverishly dump the contents of the vehicles into the small two bedroom apartment I am now sharing with my accommodating girlfriend. Although the drive was long and tiresome, we had no traffic, border, or weather issues the entire way, so we made excellent time with very minimal stress.
I have now been "officially" living in Albany for 12 days (neither the state of NY or MI actually knows yet, but they will soon) and it has been better than I could have anticipated. When I first decided to move to NY in April '11, I was in the midst of a relationship that had been long distance since January '10. Finally, after nearly two years of phone calls, skyping, and gChats, I finally get to see the woman I cherish every day and I couldn't be more thrilled. As my mom told me when the long distance business first began, "short term pains for long term gains". Two years ago I thought this moment would never come and every time I uttered phrases like, "I wish I could be there" or "If I were there", it seemed like it was a distant future. But now that I'm basking in it, I can't believe that those two years have passed, and for some reason, I feel like it all happened rather quickly. None of that matters anymore now that I am here, with Anna, finally and indefinitely.
"By Endurance We Conquer" is a phrase I'm glad I heard since it very accurately describes the past two years of my life. I now find it odd that I immediately stored it in the triathlon-related portion of my brain when it encompasses so much more. Here's to breaking down the partitions in my brain:
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| I'm pretty sure Calvin is better thinking outside the box than anyone, ever. |
The rest of my life seems to be in order as well since I anticipate my security clearance will be completed soon meaning I can then start my CAREER and earn a SALARY! I am enjoying the downtime I have now since I know I won't be able to laze about like this when I start my employment.
I have been running incessantly and logging excellent workouts, paces, and distances with great recovery and no physical problems. 14 runs in 18 days for January, 110 miles total, today was my 10th day in a row of running and I hit the track hard with a solid workout. I'm looking forward to a 30k road race this weekend and glaring down on me only 4.5 weeks away is a marathon. I'm putting in some big miles and hoping for some big results. More thoughts on running frequency, durability, and road vs. trail coming soon.
