all the way up there?

this weekend i intended to do a short run saturday early evening (because of a little soiree a friend of mine was throwing the night before, and then the long run sunday.

after a lovely brunch with charlotte (remember her, my running buddy from season 1?), something i ate derailed my plan. as i sat on the deck trying to get a few rays, a wave of nausea crept up and attached itself to my person, rendering me listless and blah. no, it was not a hangover. it was that i-ate-something-funky feeling.

the boy came home, took one look at me and said "aweee, you're not feeling well huh?"

no.

"does this mean we can't go to the OTB?"

yes, he meant the off track betting place down the street. it was the belmont yesterday and we had thought to get a little fancy and go play the ponies down the block. okay, i was going to get fancy, perhaps with a little hat action, but in my current state it was all i could do just to go.

we headed down a few avenues and planned out our bets. as we walked in we were hit with "old man smell", a mix of booze, cigarettes and age which i personally equate with my grandfather. perhaps it should be called "tipsy old man smell"...anyway. i digress. we played the ponies and got the hell out of there so i could limp back to the couch and mope, giving myself all sorts of grief that i wasn't running. we did not win any money although we came damn close.

so i certainly couldn't skip today, despite it being not nearly as nice for a run as yesterday and still feeling a little worse for the wear.

i kissed the boy goodbye, so which he sleepily replied "have fun, runny-pants", which i grumblily repeated under my breath. i wanted to sleep in. i did not want to go run, and i certainly was not going to have fun. runny pants indeed.

i opted for the backwards loop first, so that 1) i could take on the long terrible hill while i still had some energy and 2) i could watch out for traffic while i still had the mental capacity to do so. it was an excellent idea until i saw the race coming towards me - there was a 5k in the park that morning, and the runners were headed straight towards me. i swore under my breath and spent the next 10 minutes avoiding a few hundred people racing in addition to the usual park traffic of speedy bikers, roller bladers, and "normal" run walkers. definite video game moment.

i did the first loop rather uneventfully and then turned around and headed in the other direction. i was thirsty. too thirsty. must. get. fuel belt roxie. this is just dumb. i could not wait to get to the water fountain on the far side of the park and when i did i could feel my muscles perk up and i continued on my way.

at this point, approaching the big hill, my legs started feeling a bit like lead, and i got a wee bit dizzy. clearly i am not hydrating enough in this hotness so as i came to a water spot i took a 3-lightpost walk until i got to the water, gulped down a bunch, sprinkled some on my neck and tackled the hill.

i was, at this point, in a foul mood, whining to myself about it not getting any easier, the weather, the fact that i could be in my bed getting some much needed rest, that my hip hurt. pretty much i whined about anything i could think of. a very "runny" looking girl passed me and i glared at her prancing ponytail (my ponytail did *not* feel very prancy). a boy was scootering up the hill while his mom ran beside him. about 2/3rds up the hill he abandoned the scooter with a stomp and a wail. as i very slowly "ran" past them i heard this exchange:

boy: where are we gooooing
mom: look up there
boy: where up there?
mom: look as far as you can see, then look a little farther where those people are
boy (with a whimperish wail): all the way up theeeeeeeere??

i know, little one, i thought, i know just what you mean.

as i kept trucking up the hill, i smiled smuggedly as i passed the perky ponytail girl who had run out of steam. cruel? maybe. but i felt a tortoise-and-the-hare-esque sense of satisfaction.

i made it home, hot and pink faced as ever. i wouldn't say i felt great - my hip was aching and i would certainly have to ice - but i did it, and the time wasn't terrible either. and that was enough for me.

today's mileage: 7.0
time run: 78m
season mileage to date: 43.3

i *heart* Ramon

i just checked the email and had this little ditty from ramon, the head coach.

as an alumni...3 times over...sometimes you forget that it is a big deal that you are back again and again, helping shape and drive the program.

thanks ramon.

Hola;

If you are getting this email is because you are a past and current TNT participant, I think they call you Alumni !

This is me, Ramon, your coach then, and your coach now, the one with the accent (yes, yes, after this many years, still have it, deal with it!!)
I just want to take this opportunity to give you a special Welcome !
It is just soooo awesome to see so many of you coming back, so many 'old faces' :) I think I have seen people in workouts pretty much from every season I have coached, dating from Maui 2002 to last spring season, and that's absolubtely freaking awesome !

I makes me happy to know that you are back either because you 'kind of like us' or you, as I previously told you, have not life after TNT and that's what you are back, no matter the reason you are back, the important thing is that you are BACK !
THANK YOU !!

Many of you probably noted that this fFall 2009 season is a bit different from the one you participated, probably a big bigger (specially if you are from the early years when we were just a few), YES we have grown and that's in big part thanks to all of you, you made the program what it is now, you did you event, you enjoyed, you talked about TNT to everybody you know and that's why we are successful and that's why we are one of the best chapter in the country. I thank you for that !

You have fundraising thousands and thousands of dollars to help our cause, and here you are again, making a difference once more, doing your part ! We all know is not easy to fundraise several seasons, but you are here, and you are doing it, you are
an inspiration to all, to the coaches, to those in the TNT office, but specially to those that joined TNT for first time. You are the
true voice of TNT, welcome those newbies, tell them what is all about, share your pass experiences, tell them why you are back, tell them their lives are about to change, but also, take a moment to realize you are super awesome !!

Anyway, as a little token of my gratitude, for being so awesome and for being back, I want to invite you to special event, a special workout just for you, for just 'those alumni that are currently training with us for a fall marathon'
I will be sending and evite soon, it will probably happen either on Wednesday June 24th or Saturday June 27th.

Once more, thank you for all you have done, and all you continue to do. So great having you back and being able to push you around one more time !!!

Needless to say that your feedback is important to me, please feel free to send me any feedback, positive or negative about this season, I want to make sure , your experience is event better than your prior !!!

me your coach, now and always !!!

Ramon

a run for shane, with love

i'm not going to lie, the last month or two have been rough ones. personally. professionally. in general. life has been challenging in general and last night i got more bad news - the death of a friend from college.

these times could lend themselves to curling up in a ball in bed and not getting up for a few days. i've had more than a few days where i was far more inclined to say screw it than face the day.

instead, i run.

not only was i supposed to take a longer run, i needed it. i decided on the full loop with a run from my house to the park.

thunderstorms barreled down last night and when i headed out the park glistened with new rain. a new beginning. a clean start.

i ran sadly. and wistfully. and regretfully. and full of memories. i ran full of questions and doubts, and love for my friends. i ran and remembered.

dearest shane, i hold your beautiful smile close to my heart.

and the rain begins again.

today's mileage: 4.3
time run: 45m
season mileage to date: 36.3

take those days, and flip 'em

so i've been derailed by work (again), getting home at 9 which means...you guessed it! i missed practice. this means i'll be running at least 4 miles tomorrow morning instead of an "off or cross train" sort of a day. blaaaaaaah.

i really needed a run today, and there's more work to be done so not sure how late i'll be up. but if i'm lucky then maybe i'll get to be early and be fresh and peppy for a morning jaunt.

for now i'm watching obama on the telly, feeling full and cranky as hell.

an excellent start to the week

i got a late start this morning - a case of the snoozes - and for a minute i tried to justify "running later", but i kicked my butt out of bed and headed to the park.

it is gorgeous out and so i'm definitely glad i did. i'm at the point in the running where i can finally feel myself getting a bit stronger, the runs are a little less trying, the hill is not so...lung collapsing - i felt like i practically few up it this morning, compared to runs past.

now that the running is well underway, its time for me to get a move on in the fundraising department - hopefully i will be able to get the first letters out this week.

today's mileage: 3.5
time run: 35m
season mileage to date: 32.0