A lazy Sunday

It's been a long, lazy weekend of the best kind--I've gotten a good amount of work done and have caught up on my sleep. It's funny how one doesn't often miss sleep right away, but it lowers the quality of life in a subtle way; when you finally do get sleep, you suddenly realize that the world is a beautiful place again. Of course, things are not nearly as bad sleepwise as they were at Knox, but now that I'm used to getting more, even a night or two of four or five hours really does a number on me. I must be getting old or something.

I took a break from my law reading to post. Law reading is usually very boring, making me glad I didn't go to law school--I just couldn't imagine doing this all the time and have nothing but the greatest respect for those who can and do--but now we're starting to get into cases that I feel actually have some relevance for me as a journalist, which of course is the point of the class. I read the opinion of New York Times v. Sullivan and was surprised to learn that the justices conceded that it's okay to lie in the course of criticizing a public figure, pretty much as long as you don't do it on purpose. They worried that having to worry about checking every little fact for fear of government action would kill public debate of important issues and cause "self-censorship." Given what Dan Rather and CBS just went through for want of a little background checking on their sources...jeez. Of course, I don't know the developments since Sullivan very well at all. I guess I should finish the reading rather than wasting my time on Blogger.

The marathon is a week from today and I couldn't be more excited. The only problem I can think of is that I don't think I will be running with Margaret and Michelle, who are also running. They haven't trained as much as me. Of course, usually people who don't train nearly as much as me can run faster, but it might be different in this case. So now I'm debating whether I should try and run as fast as I can, maybe qualify for Boston, or run with them and maybe not reach my potential. Either way I would have fun, but also, I have this thing about running with people for too long. And I'm afraid I would not be satisfied with it afterwards. I feel like I have something to prove after a disappointing college running career. Since they'll be together, technically it would be my loss if I chose not to run with them. Things would be different if it were just Margaret or just Michelle. In the Chicago Distance Classic I stayed with Margaret even though she hadn't trained as much as I had, because it was just the two of us at that point and I felt we should stick together. But now, they'll have each other and also I think Margaret's friend Shamra is running, so if I want to forge on ahead, that shouldn't be a problem. I have a feeling I will prefer to run alone in marathons, at least this first time. Running for me is a highly personal thing. Running on a team was a wonderful, memorable experience, and not something I regret in the least, but I believe now that time is past and running has become something I do to be utterly alone. Of course, that sounds silly considering how many tens of thousands of people will be in the marathon, but I speak in general terms here. And besides, in the marathon I want to experience it purely, without anyone else's input, at least during the race itself. Afterwards will be the time for sharing of joy or commiseration.