Sand v. gold.  There is a hill at the top of Central Park.
Running counterclockwise, you start to move upward just past the
ice hockey rink, and then as the road bends, a little cliff to
the left, and the climb starts. On my third loop around the park
yesterday, I did not think I could make it without walking. I
was fifteen miles into my run and miserable. The light was
fading faster than I could keep up with it. I thought, “At this
point in October, I will still have 35 miles to go.” Now a
thought like that can do two things to a girl: It can make her
give up and stop running, exhausted simply by the number, or it
can make her run faster and harder, teeth grinding down on
teeth, cold hands balled into fists, volume up, until she
finishes her planned eighteen miles and then, why not? She runs
half a mile more. The former, that’s sand. The latter is gold.
1. exciteandenliven said: When you write about running you are
at your most genuine. I dug this post.   2. caryrandolph posted
this