Running & Writing

I learned a lot about the two things I am trying to be successful at. First, neither one can be done in isolation. I got my butt kicked on Saturday. I tried to run ten miles with a friend and her runnng group. It was ugly. I kept up for maybe the first ten minutes. I felt slow, clunky and awkward. The thing is, when I run by myself I had no idea who far off I am. I finished the run but it did not feel like a victory. It was the eqivalent of winning a war and losing all your men. Lesson learned. I can't train to be a runner in isolation. The fact is, I'm going to get out there for the race and its going to be a mess. It's the same thing with my writing. I can't write in isolation. I need to get out there and share and practice or its going to be really bad. I had a good write at B&N's this evening. I read what I wrote a few weeks ago and it seemed so rudimentary. I love that both of these skills are a process and they are both teaching me so much about life - the process is just as important as the product.