Running and Prepositions

The day before I lost Huan, a friend texted me: “I am trying to get a 4 woman team together for a marathon (about 6 miles each). Would you be interested?” “I am interested. Keep me posted,” I replied.

After Huan passed away, days went by before I heard from her again. She was scared to ask about the race for fear of sounding insensitive (which she didn’t), but she needed to register soon. My immediate inclination was to say, “No, I am not interested. Not anymore. I’ll get back to you when I can muster up the strength to crawl out of this fetal position and keep my composure for longer than a five-minute stretch of time. Maybe in about six years.” But, instead, I told her I was still interested. And, by “interested,” I meant “willing,” kind of in the same way someone is willing to get a tetanus shot when she accidentally cuts off a bodily extremity with a rusty knife. She knows that it is as necessary as it is painful, though certainly less painful than the alternative.

I have never been a serious runner, and I certainly have never run a race. But I never had a dog like Huan or felt a loss of this magnitude. So I committed to a training schedule, one which I have observed--religiously, persistently, diligently--for eight weeks now. In addition to weightlifting and boot(y) camp days, which were already part of my fitness regimen, I added three days of running each week, two shorter runs and one longer run. Today was my last long run before race day next week--and my longest run to date. I ran 7 miles, without stopping.

Running has been one hell of a tetanus shot. Necessary. Painful, though certainly less painful than the alternative. And I feel my immunity building every time my foot meets pavement.

It’s funny…when I teach my students mechanics rules--and I always look for any excuse to talk grammar (like now, for example)--I often tell them prepositional phrases are “grammatical garbage.” “Toss the baggage!” I shout, as I point to plural pronouns and their disagreeing singular antecedents on the chalkboard. (If you are a grammar geek like me, see footnote* below for explanation.)  But running, at least for me--personally, right now, in this very moment and time--needs to be qualified, and such qualifiers are essential, not superfluous: I have run through puddles, torrential downpours, and 40 mph winds. I have run in frigid temperatures and snow. I have run with a shoulder / neck injury and with a sore throat and runny nose. I have run in spite of exhaustion. I am running because of my grief, because it is colder, more consuming and crippling than any Buffalo weather, muscle strain, or illness. I will not run away from grief, and I will certainly not be paralyzed by it. I am running through my grief, without stopping. Maybe someday I will just run--no qualifiers needed--but right now I am running for Bubba. And that kind of baggage alone is worth its weight in gold.

*Certain pronouns, namely each, either, neither, and any variation of one or body, are always singular, regardless of the phrase that may follow them. But if the object of the preposition that follows is plural, one may get confused and opt for a plural verb and referring pronoun. For example: Either of the students has his homework is correct. Of the students is “grammatical garbage,” a prep phrase whose object is students.  The subject of the sentence is Either, which is, again, always singular; so the writer should opt for a singular verb, has, and a singular pronoun (technically a possessive adjective), his.