Mental Exhaustion

I live in Boston.  This tiny little sentence still hasn't sunk in for me.  I still feel a little bit like a nomad, as I'm currently living on someone's couch out of a suitcase, as I have been for the past month.  I can't wait to not be homeless... On the plus side, the running paths are incredibly more scenic than the one path I ran along in Chicago.  And today ... I really needed it ...

Networking ... I'd like to stop using that word immediately.  I like making genuine connections to people I would recommend and am friends with.  Somehow I feel like its driven by quantity and political gain and less by real friendship and connection.  I hope I am wrong about this, and things here prove my initial snap judgement wrong.

I am so excited to get to know my class better ... we have 40% of students who are international students.  So many new countries to visit!!!  So far, I've made friends from Panama, Egypt, Isreal, China ... Just to name a handful.  I feel like I'm finally addressing my need to embrace risk.  I got some new neon running clothes (risky for someone who believes in a world of black workout clothes).  Every run I've gone on since I got here has been different.  I want to run all over this city.  I've even thought about using this as a way to meet more people in my program (in a way outside of drinking and studying).  I talked to a few girls, and we want to start a running club ... Seems a little aggressive with graduate school on the horizon, but I at least want to run some races before the snow rolls in!

When I finished this run ... I realized that I don't remember the last time a run made me exhausted, tired, or frustrated that I couldn't push myself farther.  Now that I'm mentally exhausted ... I can run forever.  Who knew?

179 Miles Down 136 Miles To Go