The belt moves along. It requires a minimal amount of my efforts to follow along. I simply lift one foot up, let it fall back down, and then lift the other. On days like today, where motivation is low, it’s just the ticket. There’s no need to focus on the run. The belt moves along without much on my part. It leaves my mind free to think.
Archives for May 2007
not fair
Bad news is popping up all around me. Friends and family are all experiencing little, and big, issues of their own. I want to be supportive and yet it is hard not to get depressed about it all.
I arrived to work today to some devastated news of a dear co-worker’s husband. After a long fight, it has been confirmed that there is no winning of this battle against his cancer. It hit me hard – like a slap in the face.
I have prayed for them often – that this would not be the case. I know that my prayers were heard. Why wasn’t my unselfish request granted? I’m sorry to be feeling so negative right now. It’s just not fair.
I wish that I could help this dear friend. I wish that I could make it better, or easier, for her. But I know that I can’t. We have got to find a cure for cancer…somehow. It won’t be for my husband, or her’s. But there are so many more out there that desperately need a miracle. They scary thing is that they might not even know it.
Happy Mother’s Day!
Mother’s Day was a great day to lounge around. I spent the morning upstairs and out of the way as my three sons made breakfast for me. The smell of bacon, spreading throughout the house, was delightful. I kept busy with the task of revamping YaYa’s blog.
I was called downstairs for breakfast after a while. DD kept lighting small fires on the stovetop with the bacon grease. He seemed a little too experienced at putting them out (as if they’d been popping up all morning). It’s a wonder that he didn’t set the smoke detector/house alarm off. I’d better check the battery.
I was treated to eggs, english muffins, bacon and a nice glass of orange juice. I even had a stack of presents on the table.
Quicksilver 25K Trail Race
I’d be happy to sit in this chair or, better yet, in bed all day but I am afraid that it might make it worse. The soreness and fatigue is moving in for the kill, as I sit here trying write my race report.
I began preparing for this adventure last night with the baking of a fresh batch of M&J’s energy bars for race morning. I loaded my Camelbak with some 32 oz. of watered down Cytomax, my Epi-pen, and 2 GU packets. Then I went to bed. It was later than I had planned as DD’s flight was a little late coming in and the airport was a madhouse. I had another fitfull night’s sleep, waking a few times to check the clock or check on little YaYa (who broke his arm yesterday at school).
I was greeted to a cool morning, perfect for running. The turnout of runners was good but a much smaller crowd than you find for road races. The 25K (my event) was liked to the 5K of most races; another group of runners were already on the trail for the 50K and 50M event.
We all gathered back from the chalk line that marked the start. It seemed that no one wanted to be at the front of the pack. We began our run when the race clock was at exactly 60 minutes. A short downhill was quickly followed by a LONG and grueling uphill. I walked as I had planned and did not feel the least bit guilty for doing so. My heart pounded as I plodded. Some walkers passed me and others were passed by me. I was happy when the trail flattened out for a tiny bit before it began rolling up and down (mostly UP).
The downhill portions were equally as steep. It seemed a waste of all that uphill effort only to run downhill again. There was more up to follow. I kept reminding myself to relax on the descents and did my best to keep my wits about me. I did not want to be overwhelmed by the tendancy to feel out of control. Instead of my knees and hips absorbing the trauma from the trail, I used my imaginary brakes to slow me down. It worked.
Before long we were turning down onto the single-track part of the race. I remembered this part from having run the race in 2005. It is lovely. We ran in single file. Ms. Chatty-Cathy was right on my heals. Her non-stop talking was draining.
After a while, I just wanted to get away from her. I took advantage of the offers to pass and was soon running all by myself in the middle of nowhere.
1st Place
I arrived at the baseball field at the top of the 7th inning. The batter from the other team hit what was “apparently” a blatant foul ball that was called fair. Two runs were scored since BoBo’s team was slow to act (since it should have been called as foul).
Standing behind home plate, I felt a little out of place as the other team began snide comments. This was *not* the typical crowd of prior games. I moved over to our side to mingle with my own.
We were still ahead by two runs as the next batter came up to bat. His hit shot straight to the in field where it was retrieved, sent to 2nd and immediately to 1st base.
The game ended and our team came out on top.
Next up: Little league.