Just look at Lil Lizzie, all laid out on the warm statue. She has the right idea, now doesn’t she?

Right about now, I wish I was afforded the same luxury. Believe me, sitting at my desk for 8 hours is that last thing my body needs. Unfortunately, in order for me to provide it with the food it needs, sitting is a neccessary evil.

Well, I did it! I finished the race, and the race finished me.

After last weekend’s 17+ mile run, I felt confident enough that I could at least cover the distance. I knew that the steep up and downhill segments of the Quicksilver course would kick my butt, but I was expecting that all along. Having run the race three other times, I toed the line knowing that the technical aspects of the course might also be an issue given that I am only running in Vibram fivefingers. I was nervous.

All along, I’d referred to the race as a “run” rather than a “race.” I guess I felt that somehow this would lessen the pressure of toeing the line. The sleepless hours of my early morning confirmed that my approach had not worked. I got up in an aura of dread. Not exactly how you want to approach your big event.

As I drove to the start, I tried lightening up a bit. I thought about what I would tell my running friends if they had shared feeling this way. Most certainly, I’d tell them that this feeling is somewhat normal. I’d tell them that it’s there for a reason, to make sure that they approached the race with an appropriate amount of respect for all of the time and effort they had put into training for it. Very likely, I’d laugh at them and try to get them to laugh at themselves in turn.

But I was not feeling at all amused. Instead, I was remembering the value of practice racing. Having only my A-race on my calendar, and nothing else, makes handling these pre-race nerves a little too challenging.

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On the way to work this morning, I got to thinking. I do that sometimes. Not too much but occasionally.

Anyway, being Mother’s Day this weekend and all, I got to thinking about Father’s Day. I know. I’m weird. But not really. I mean, I was thinking about how I’ve only got one living parent left. ONE! Lord only knows how many years until that changes. Although Mom has agreed to hang out for at least 5, 10 more years (I’d have to read the commentary to get the exact number), neither of us have gotten buy-in from “the big guy” on this. There are never guarantees on these sorts…EVER!

I got to thinking about how challenging it used to be — to keep all of the folks happy on these key holidays (especially on Father’s Day). Make sure the kids spoil their dad — but give him space. Find time to visit my dad, as well as my stepdad (who did the majority of our upbringing). Then there was the paternal grandparent to attend to as well. Keeping everyone happy was next to impossible with only the 2-day weekend.

But all of that has changed. This coming Father’s day, I’ll have none of that. It’s pretty sad, and even sadder to think that it has been this way for my boys for the past 5 years. I want to ask if we can just cross the day off of the calendar – so that we don’t need to think about it. *sigh*

And my point in sharing this?

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I know I’ve been a bit heavy on yoga and light on running lately. I guess I figured that since I’ve been writing about running for so long now, there isn’t much else to say. But that thinking is just… well, WRONG.

I think I mentioned, a while back, that I was helping a friend get up to speed (so to speak) with his running. I’ve been giving him bits of advice here and there and taking him along with me on lunchtime runs. Well, it appears that I neglected to provide him with some very important safety reminders. My bad!

You know that stuff that we could all stand to have repeated once in a while – just in case we start to feel indestructible or something like that? Well, here are just a few of them. Please, leave a comment to add anything I’ve left off to the list for the benefit of all.

• Make sure someone knows where you are heading.
• Have identification with you. I wear an elite bracelet made by RoadID.
• It’s a good idea to bring a phone along, OR a friend, or BOTH.
• If you run with music, keep it low, and consider leaving one ear free. If you don’t, remove an earplug when crossing streets or passing others.
• Look both ways before crossing the street – even if it is a road-less-traveled.
• Stay alert and keep an eye out for “bad guys.” Because, as we all know, they are lurking about.

Did I miss anything?