Getting ready to run the Marathon

Om Gal discusses why experimenting with drugs as a teen might have cured her of her need to seek risks:

In mid January, I found myself running around Castle Island in South Boston at sunrise, on a morning when the temperature dipped well below zero. It was dark, with only faint splashes of orange, the color of campfire embers, alighting the skyline opposite Logan Airport. Castle Island, it should be said, is not actually an island, as in a land mass surrounded by water. Instead, it’s a small bay, encircled by a footpath that typically draws throngs of runners, walkers, bikers, and loiterers. This morning, however, I am alone - save for some construction workers at Conley Terminal, who, when they glimpse me struggling to negotiate my way over sheets of ice, are barely able to conceal their shaking heads and incredulous expressions that all but say, "WTF are you are thinking, lady? It's freezing out here!" ...