I'm 35, divorced, no kids. I run, work, sleep, repeat. For too many years. I'm bored out of my mind and need something to stimulate me before I join the circus or am committed to one.
I love Florida, love the beach and thought I would never leave. Life there is relaxing but I'm so relaxed my stress threshold is zero and my mind is dissolving to nothing save the zeros and ones I pound out day after day on my keyboard. I love my job but I would love it more if there was something to stimulate me beyond code.
Last year I ran a 50 mile ultra in the Withlacoochee Forest in Brooksville, FL. During the race I was frustrated because I couldn't run faster (I had never done a single trail run before that day), and at some point it became a day in the wilderness instead of a race.
Since then I think about running in the woods, hiking up a mountain, biking through several New England towns on a Fall day. I don't think about running marathon PRs.
Before running ruled my life I would have marathon-esque days of exercise that involved multiple activities in different environments. For example, one day in Syracuse I spent an hour in the gym weight training followed by two separate multi-hour bike rides with different friends on different trails. By the time I got home I was so tired and my legs were so numb, I felt like I had run 30 miles. It was fantastic.
These day long bouts are what I think about, what makes my heart beat a little faster. I hope to spend a year less bored by running, hiking and biking through some new places.
