Update Part 3, In Which I Actually Talk About Running

More wonderful people for the Honor Roll:

LAURA KOENEMAN KAYE
LAURA TURNBULL
ELLIOT MARTIN
DOUGLAS MAO

Making the total as of today
4,021.00

I am amazed.
Would you like to join the Honor Roll of people who have generously supported Fred's Team and the Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research, not to mention my second marathon effort? If so, click here.

So anyways, I've been trying to relive the past couple of weeks in my mind because I've been such a craptastic blogger, and so much is backlogged that I think it only best to skim through things as briefly as possible and pick up at the present.

Let's see:

Did some crazy step workouts at the Riverside Park steps 2 Thursdays ago (that would be the 16th.) Much hill and step work, and the long-awaited (and more fun than it sounds) running backwards up the hill. For some reason, last year when we did this it was terrifying. Now it's just lots of fun. It was also somewhat cooler than usual. De-LIGHTful! And Lynn Bradley brought Scottish sweets with her, which she got from Scotland (it follows.) Scots do love their sugar. Wow. It's a wonder Lynn still has her teeth if those are the sweets she grew up with. I'm glad these sweets aren't readily available, because I'm hooked.

Saturday the 18th -- long run with the Team. A PERFECT PERFECT day for a long run -- cool, almost cold, breezy and sunny. We did a full loop and then 2 upper loops. I felt great, and I think my time was pretty good, let me check --yes, 16 miles in 2:32:00 for a 9:30 mile average. I definitely do better in the cooler temps. It's a good time for me, and it was good to see that I was consistent with my time for my Cape Cod long run. How I wish I could've done Falmouth, too, but I was there to work, not to run.

Monday the 20th, another cool and perfect day for a run. I did my favorite NYC run -- around the Reservoir at dusk. Equal to being around the Rez when the sun is just coming up. Few sights in NYC compare.

Tuesday, okay, I was a wuss. It was raining all day, rainy and humid, and we were supposed to have a track workout. Fred's Team trains in the rain -- after all, it rained every day we trained last summer -- and normally I have no problems with running in the rain. However, here was my thinking: It will be slippery on the track. Jeff will take it easy on us because of the track conditions, and I feel I need to push myself today. Therefore, I will do my speed workout on the treadmill. Now let me point out the fallacy of this line of reasoning, which begins with my hallucination that Jeff will take it easy on us. Everything that follows from this hallucination is therefore a false assumption. I also made the following mistake: I told everyone why I wasn't coming. And on cue, when I stepped out of the gym, the rain stopped. Grrr!

So on Thursday I brought shame donuts. Ever heard of shame donuts? They're also known as sex donuts. When you haven't gotten any in a while, and you do, the next day, you bring donuts. Though I didn't get none, still, donuts. It was another hill-step combo in Riverside Park. I don't know why I like these workouts so much, they're killer. Maybe it's the variety.

I had someplace to be Saturday AM at 11, so I decided to do my 15 miler on Friday night. That way I wouldn't feel pressured to complete the run by a certain time. Besides, the run was going to be along Riverside Park, and if I did the 15 there, I'd still need to get home, shower and suchlike before heading out to my appointment (when they're in the Park, I can adjust and run a couple of miles prior and split off at Columbus Circle to get home.) In many ways, it was a good decision because Saturday was one of the most humid days of the year. Friday was still a little cooler. However, not much cooler, and no support. It would have been nice to have Teammates out there, and also someone with Gatorade. I stayed in the Park because I knew there'd be fountains and places to buy Gatorade and pretzels. Which was a good thing because while I know what to eat and when prior to an early-morning run, I didn't figure it right for a 6pm long run. My plan was --start at 59th St, do a full loop, an upper loop, cut off at 72nd, up to the 103 St transverse, then home. 15. By mile 11, I was pooped, and decided that instead of getting to 72nd St, I'd cut off at the Res and do 2 laps of the Bridle Path and then head home. Basically, if I had to run up Cat Hill one more time, I'd quit and never run again. This way the last four miles would be flat or downhill, the only way I'd finish them.

I had to stop and get more Gatorade when I hit the Rez, I had already gone through my bottle. I had taken some Accel-Gel beforehand, and let me say there is nothing nastier than orange cream Accel-Gel. I prefer the Hammer Gel. And the Accel products have whey protein, which -- there's just no gentle way to say it -- gives me gas. I had heard of the magical powers of Accelerade and Accel-Gel. It definitely had power, but as for magical, well, it depends on your definition of "magical." Insert your "rocket power" jokes here. Perhaps it helps other people with endurance, but not me, alas. And in spite of being full of gas, I was out of gas. Those last few miles were a real slog.

Saturday AM I was the water girl for the Team's 15-miler. May I say that I really enjoyed volunteering? It was a lot of fun. I was at 34th Street and the river, there's a little section where there's room for putting down water and Gatorade. Matt and David were, of course, the fastest -- they were on their way back before some people reached me the first time. Lordy, but it was humid. Everyone was suffering. A lot of people had cramps. I had to really push the Gatorade on them. I know it's nasty, but it's got salt. I went through the entire cooler of water and Gatorade. One of this year's slower runners (last year it was me, so I'm allowed to point this out!) is a woman named Natalie, she's 65. Amazing! She keeps apologizing for making people wait for her to finish. STOP APOLOGIZING if you're reading this. We wait because we want to, not because we have to. What's important is to support each other and have fun. She is clearly enjoying herself, it just takes her a while. I hope I've got enough left in me to run a marathon at 65. It was fun cheering my Team on, even though I still ended up being late for my appointment. Ah, well.

Took the rest of the weekend off. As I said in an earlier post, I was -- still am -- a little burned out. Not physically, mentally. Not motivated. Trying to pass my 140 speed test at school (did I mention that I passed all my 130s? I did!) and putting a lot of pressure on myself for that, and there's also some other stuff going on in what's left of my personal life that I need to process. You know, life is getting in the way of life. So I'm a little distractamated and getting sick of running in circles, metaphorically and also literally. I did a good loop yesterday to try to burn off some negative energy, which did help. But I need to get my mojo back. I'm sure I will, I just need to ease off and roll with the punches.

And that leaves us with today. I have a hill workout in an hour or so, so I should get ready. We are now officially caught up!! I hate these hill workouts, but I have to say, they help. Oh, the paradox.

more anon,
me