Jodi’s Running Blog

Greetings to anyone who might be reading!

I have been a runner since the age of 14 when I joined my school’s varsity track team. I have been a motivated runner, though, since 2000. In 1997 I tore my ACL and medial meniscus during the long jump at a track meet, and several years after my orthopedic surgery and physical therapy, I realized my days as a sprinter and field events athlete had ended. However, distance running seemed like an option. When I decided to train for my first marathon in 2000, I found that having a goal does wonders for motivation.

Like many runners with whom I have conversed, I enter periods of running blues, where I lack motivation and will potentially experience months without exercising. Fortunately, I have possessed high motivation levels consistently over the past six months. This has led me to register for my third, and perhaps most difficult, marathon – the London Marathon, April 17, 2005.

In an effort to focus, I have transformed my personal website into a running information/diary site (http://www.jodidodds.com). I am also converting my blog, which previously contained posts regarding the November election, into a running blog. I realized that there were myriad political blogs, so I wanted to create something a little different (even though I know mine isn’t the first).

I will be traveling around the country over the next two months for medical residency interviews. I will meet with program directors and residents and will wander around the various campuses/hospitals to obtain a better feel for where I belong. One essential component, though, will be the running possibilities in each area. I do not know how many people partially judge cities based on how good the running is, but I know that my morning runs will be an essential component to daily functioning over the next four years, so a city’s running environment/culture becomes an important factor.