Did it!!!

REALLY didn't wanna, but.....

Hadda do St.Francis. The brain said "go ahead, take another day off," but no. Only 4+weeks until The Big One, can't wuss out now.

...and of course, T calls, asked if I'd paid for The Bus yet. Reminded him I called to make reservations for us, but had yet to send the $$$. He was headed that way so he'd shell out, I'll repay thurs. Nice. God gives you what you need.

Haven't decided on the blue line run yet. Really on the fence. It kind'a sucks (not a straight run, stop for traffic.........), but for newbies it's a howl. See how I feel that day, if nothing else is on the calendar/if the club peeps...... Then again, GLIRC has it's 6 hour, 60th birthday run @ Sunken Meadow that day as well. Decisions, decisions.....

Why? (re: G giving you what ya' need) Friday we had an eating disorder patient, did my thing, patient stayed. Come Sunday, patient boogied. Shit happens. Felt bad though. Actually felt I'd made a difference. Such is the nature of the addicted beast.

Thurs we have our bored meeting, then membership meeting. Helen's gonna do the presentation on Quebec. STILL riffin' on that. Why:

1)How refreshing to NOT have to tolerate anyone shit, or anyone themselves for that matter. For the entire trip, everyone was cool. And according to MY cool-meter, that's a bar raised very high.

2)How refreshing to deal with people who wanted NOTHING from me. Everyone brought something to the table. All day I get shit dumped into my lap to handle, come home: ditto. THIS trip was killer.

3)NO ill will of ANY kind. THAT'S a fuckin' miracle. Take a crowd of peeps from disparate backgrounds, Lord knows we gots our issues, yet all was well. Wow.

life is good.

...still...upset the bulimic boogied. Just don't tell anyone I had a feeling. Street cred in the crapper.

what've you done for me lately???/only as good as your last....

got the call from T re: the weekend. Wow. Funny how quickly the 18m became yesterday's news.
AND, how we're on the same wavelength. He was on the pc setting up his weekend sched, I felt he wasn't in on the 18m, he wasn't. Hadda work. Bummer. So, he wanted to know which is up for the weekend. Hadda pass on the Bayshore half.

The Homestretch

just 5 measely weeks until (theme from Jaws) The Big One! FINALLY got my long run in. Props to peer pressure.

Woke up, got outta bed, no need for a comb, headed out pre dawn. Got a killer spot, then prerace nap. Only half a block from the start. OK, so far so good.

The Plan: Do 2 loops of the park (1/2 marathon). IF I'm feelin' it, do the entire run-18 miles, hence, 3 loops.

Now, what the FUCK would posess a "normal" semi-rational human to do not one, not two, but three f-ing loops of the park? "The Long Run," that's what. The way I figure, 18 miles in Central Park=a marathon. Think of it, with all the g-damned hills etc...this is a marathon. Would it have been easier to do Totten as a long run? Yes, but, lacks the challenge of Central Park. How long ago was it that I couldn't run a complete loop???

So, ok. Race "Training Run, Marathon Tune-Up" starts. Thousands of friggin' people. Misting, not raining. HUMID as hell. Wow. REALLY bad, i.e. Quebec. Que paso con la temperatura de la semana pasada????? Jeez. EVERYONE commented that they were soaked, not from the misty rain either.

Ok, did the first loop, felt ok. Knew the NYRR had power Gels awaiting @ miles 9 n' 15, but packed my own. Popped one @ 4, another @ 8. At this point, committed to the half. Saw all the usual suspects: Chinese Guy w/the music n' the bells, Warren from Massapequa, Big Bird.....AND one of the CP Quebec peeps, cool-of course he ran right by me (but I passed him @ 12), and Marine Corps Sarge-dunno if he really is/was, but he sure acts like it, and he never fails to motivate. REALLY glad I wore The Colors. Wasn't gonna, was anxious re: didn't wanna make The Peeps look bad with a shit performance, but 1)I did ok, 2)while in the corral, to my right was a woman who just moved into the AP apartments. She was asking about running there............Told her to bop in Thurs for the meeting and Google our site. Also, wearing the colors was a motivator-hard to be a wuss while NOT in stealth mode.

So far, so good, no walking. Wow. 2 loops of the park, n' still going strong. What the____ may as well finish this mother. Felt pretty good, made small talk/wiseass cracks with the other runners (esp one to my right-we concurred, @ mile 17/18 we're just getting warmed up). ALMOST did a 4th loop, let's make this bad boy a marathon, but no. Save something for manana.

What I don't get is this one was a Q. Some of the training runs aren't. Glad it is, with this friggin' distance, it SHOULD be, but I don't get the logic.

...and yes, ended up with MORE power gels than I came with, can't take the Rican outta the hood.

Anyway, feeling ok, manana will be the test.

The Plan: With this 18 under my belt, do at least a half every weekend 'til The Big One. Next week is Greta's-gotta do THIS one. The same weekend is the Bayshore Half, but hey, do a boring half on Long Island, or Greta's? No brainer.

***DID feel weird not having the peeps there, but, such is life. Their loss. I know some did the SNCH 5k, you gots 'ta be kidding. REALLY feel like this one is a measure of progress-REALLY didn't think I'd do 3 loops, as well as a badge of honor. The park is a bitch. The woman to my right in the corral asked which I thought was tougher: AP or Central Park. Really think CP, but The Line is amazing training.

***Arm is KILLING me. Underestimated the obvious: running tenses/releases the arm muscles. Duh. Sore as hell, possibly more so than the knees. Though I think the Endurox n' Green Tea help.

F-ing Mets lost. Ouch. Then again, this is what we do, lose. When we win, we await the other shoe dropping. We are Mets fans, hence the need for antidepressants.

Go Jets.

YES!

went through the HELL (n' I mean HELL) of going into NYC to get my # for manana. HELL because it's Saturday, and rainy, n' dreary, n'...... yecccch. But ok, got the goddamned thing. Can't do it day of, as it's gonna be tough enough doing anywhere from 2 to 3 loops of Central Park, let alone wasting calories hunting for a parking spot THEN going to get the #........

Got home, what do my eyes behold, The Number! YES!!! November will soon be here.

In the meantime, gotta make it through manana.

gear up!

gotta get in long mode. Sunday's the 3x Central Park long run. Ouch.

REALLY dread this one, but gots'ta do it. One loop, tough, 2 loops=1/2 marathon. 3 loops="why the fuck am I doing this???"

But, gotta train. 3 loops'll put me in good stead for The Big One.

(repeat after me, sing if you must) "rain rain go away, come again......."

here we go again!

more f-ing rain!!! It's s'posed to start any minute/hour. This is getting ridiculous.

Wanted to pick up the numbers for Sunday's run, but no. Ain't chancing getting soaked.

St.Francis this am. REALLY a perfect morning for it. Crisp, clear, barely broke a sweat. Felt REALLY good. Knees, mercifully, held out.

Only a few more weeks 'til The Big One.

.....I'd hate to look into those eyes and see an ounce of pain.............

Got Ibuprofen???

DAYUM!!! Da knees be hurtin'.

Did St.Francis, apparently, the weeks of running myself ragged have caught up. Exhausted, knees aching. BUT, got my St.Francis on!!! Next couple'a days has RAIN predicted, so, gotta log 'em while I can. One point of interest I keep neglecting: among the usual "before the sun rises" suspects, are 2 who run ON the line. Every morning we laugh @ each other, because they split into the two lanes, leaving me the middle-kind'a like unspoken runner's etiquette. Very cool. We each laugh each day as this occurs and wish each other a "good one."

Cleaning up the office, wrapping up loose ends (summer), when what do I come upon? The bib from last NY Marathon. Wow. Feels like sooooooo long ago. Actually hadda check the calendar to verify that 2007 wasn't further than last year. What memories since then.

...they're off to find the hero of the day..............

recovery run my booty!

well, so much for THAT idea. Was s'posed to be an easy 86th, turned into a 6m speed run. All things ARE relative. Some would consider it a daily run, @ my pace it was an extended tempo.
Actually felt good, knees sore as hell for 2 hours after, but ok. Loved the mileage. Dead flat.

Went to p/t, again. Jeeeeez. This shit damned better be doin' some good.

Helped Spike with his homework. In the process, It came home, nice-so much for picking him up @ school. It utters the line "you only speak this way when your Father's around." Hmmm. Of course I told him the response "I only speak this way when you're around, actually." Bitch. Amazing how you can critique everything, yet actually accomplish/do nothing. Like living with a psycho peanut gallery. But hey, be good to yourself. Sorry, meant "reclaim yourself." YECCCCCH.

.....you're in my heart, you're in my soul...

"be good to yourself"

if I hear that one more time I'm gonna puke. (Shebitch on the phone with one of It's groupies.)
That goes along with "reclaim yourself," spare me Oprah.

But we digress. Day 1, St.Francis. Hadda make up for the 1 mile sprint.

Manana recovery run, 86th.

Deb posted on the bulletin board the location of scoop's article. Turns out he HAS a name: Robert Elkin. He wrote an article about the Queens Half in which I'm quoted.

***Queens Half pic down below

It's a wrap!

Did the Fifth Avenue Mile, ANOTHER year, MORE fun! Still can't get over the fun of running down a closed down main NYC street. This shit never gets old. (of course, double the winner's time n' that was me, but hey, I broke 8).

Before the run, ran into the CP peeps, they were volunteering. Now, what made this notable, these were the Canadian peeps. They DO travel in packs (eh?). Fun to see 'em again after the fact. This was the first time with my arm in a sling. Of course, took it off for the run, but must've answered the question a thousand times today "what happened???" What made this one tough was the pain in the arm. Never really hurt this much before. Doing the marathon didn't hurt as much.

Tom, this guy IS unbelieveable, did the run after working all night. AND, he wants to break 6 minutes next year. Wow. If I eat all my veggies.....

So good to reconnect with the usual suspects from the NYRR side. Despite myself, there are several acquaintances. All with something wonderful to share. AND, when push comes to shove, they motivate me. Bless them.

Every time I go to one of these things, I think of the "gotta be in it to win it" line. For so long I was on the sidelines, because I put myself there. Missed soooooo much. Would've been just as easy to to The Line-prob could'a used the miles, but no. Here was where I was meant to be. Life IS good.

.....there are places I remember.....some have gone and some remain...all these places had their moments.......

n' where were YOU????

had our Back Alley 5k, a.k.a. the "tree branch in your face, tree root tripping you" cross country. Perfect weather for it, crisp, cool. 23 peeps showed, unfortunately that OTHER race was today too. Those 4997 people will never know what they missed.

It was really cool to come together for our no frills thing. The club showed, volunteers aplenty, with the usual wrong turn @ the wrong place. Wouldn't be any fun without it.

AND we actually had 2 or 3 that heard about it through the website. NICE!!! Props Deb.

Ken n' I were hanging before everyone showed-me naturally early, he as it's pretty much his race. We concluded the magic of the club is-in view of the demise of others/though we're a bunch of dysfunctional mothers, our goal unites us. We have odd/bizarre ways of getting to that goal, but it remains constant. Very cool. Makes me truly proud to be associated with this bunch of freaks. (remember the Groucho line: I'd never join a club that would have me as a member).

grab an atheist

proof that G exists: NO CAST!!!!!



Went to Ortho Doc, turns out he's a runner!!! YES! He does one race a year, the Lloyd Harbor 5k. Of course I told him I went to school in that hood and did that run...compared notes...bottom line-the fracture isn't worse, back to 4 more weeks of p/t. THIS I can deal with. Was fully prepped to dodge branches and tree roots manana with a cast on my arm. YES!!! Thank you G!



Of course to every yin there's a yang. This terrific news offset yesterday: came home, Shebitch relates the phone call It got from keith's school-turns out he missed 2 h/wassignments. OK, not major, but...Worse, he was given the chance to make it up and obviously didn't. So of course this becomes my problem. No computer last night, he went nuts. Tough shit. I explained to him that I'd love to be like his Mother and do nothing, but I cannot. He understood, was pissed as hell, but understood. Though it's too late for the assignments to be credited (he got 2 zeroes), I told him when he comes home he'll do them anyway and submit them to the teacher as a show of good faith.

Quick, grab that atheist, Spike forgot his homework, I went ballistic. He felt bad, you could see it, but I couldn't let it go-hadda be strong. So...what did he do??? Jumped on his bike n' went to get it. Kudos boy!!!

tgif

at least for me. Manana go to Dr.Ortho, either surgery or cast, enough is enough. P/T ain't doin' squat.

Got my St.Francis on, for the last of the week. See how I feel tomorrow. None too enthralled re: running with a cast. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

used to do a little 'til a little wouldn't do it

so a little got more n' more (Mr.Brownstone)

No, can't help myself. Got my St.Francis on AGAIN. REALLY workin' that groove eh kiddies?

Best news: George called yet again, did yet another mile on Levittown Parkway (hence the song). He's so cute, wears his emotions on his sleeve-he's a corrections officer, you'd think with such a job he'd be hardcore. We compared notes and came to the same conclusion, a gimme for runners: the hardest part IS getting out the door. Ain't it the truth.

Gotta log those miles this week, bullshit runs this weekend, Sat the 5k, Sunday the Continental Airlines Fifth Ave. Forecast calls for good weather-wow, we're owed it after the last few weekends.

.....just can't seem to get it any better, just a little better than before.....we've been dancin' with.........

progress

feeling better on The Line.

Did St.Francis, knees cooperating. The base is def there.

Reviewed results of the Queens half, my best time was 1:55, THAT was on the old course, in better weather. This was way tougher and humid as hell. I'm pleased. Last year I ran 5 mins slower. I'll take it.

Heard from George. He went out for the first time in too long. We comisserated-yes, the hardest part IS getting out the door.

Spike makin' me nuts. Doing the daily homework thing is rough. They don't call 'em the "terrible teens" for nothing. Doing it without assistance is REALLY hard. Come back to Toxichouse, printer on the fritz/teacher won't accept homework on a disc. Right. I wrote the bitch a note telling her either she accepts the work a day late as our printer's dead, or she can feel free to buy us a printer. Of course, Shebitch is of NO use, It's the reason the printer's dead-tried getting cartridges on the cheap. Never works. Doesn't stop It from bitching though. Surreal. Thank God I have a can do attitude, passing it on to Spike. When I walked through the door, he was palpably upset, after I problem solved, all well. Am I the ONLY motherfucker who can do this??? As we speak, Shebitch prepping to go teach religion. 'Nuff said about that. Yes, Virginia, don't do shit @ home but go teach Jesus. Yhea god.

Went to p/t/ for the arm, when they saw it, they ordered me to the E.R. More x rays. Another appointment @ the orthopedist friday. They can't tell if it's torn ligaments or what. They're itching to put it in a cast, been itching to do so for weeks. Too much to do. Banging it against the truck probably wasn't too good for it-then again, neither was playing hockey/running the marathon. Hee hee. Wouldn't change a thing. When they asked "doesn't it hurt," gave the stock runner's answer: I do marathons, pain is relative. Ain't it the truth? Not exaggerating one bit. Not to mention living with Shebitch-THAT hurts, an arm, not so much.

No, you can't write stuff this good

Imagine, you live with someone with entirely too much free time on their hands-"free" defined as: don't cook, don't clean, don't parent. You walk into the place you sleep, and things are arbitrarily moved-i.e. a print of a painting from the renaissance (given to you by your mother no less) is moved to the den-amongst running gear-because a flea market yielded crap for the shithole/livingroom. No, you can't write stuff this good. Surreal.

Got my St.Francis on, good thing. Should'a taken the day off-day after a half-but it WAS in fact merely a half, not a full. REALLY humid this am, but a terrific excuse to take it slooooow.

STILL riffin' offa seein' all the greenies. What a true gathering. With Striders running and volunteering, College Pointers supporting the run, Hellgaters here and there, and the spectators-it weas really what running was all about.

good show!!!!!

had a strong showing @ the run this am, 8 of us green wearers-nine if you count Dave but the NYRR insist on placing him with the bluepeoplewhoshouldcallaspadeaspadeandjoinaREALclub. HE ran VERY well, the rest of us, well, read on.

Met Tom @ 5:30 @ The Parkhouse. So far so good. Got to the run, parked about a mile away, no sweat-ate up the pre race time.

Shot the shit with Curtis, the College Point peeps, etc...before the run-asked the cp peeps if this was where the ferries left-Quebec memories eh? Bumped into Elik in the corral-surprised he was in the same as me. Something wrong there. Bumped into Debbie-she was a marshall @ the corrals. So nice to have such a local race populated by peeps. Wonderful!!!

Before we knew it, we were off n' running. What I forgot was that the course changed, no more 2 loops-thank G, but the down side: stupid humidididity (87%). Good news that: built in excuse for a shit time. AND, best of all, I actually wasn't last amongst the wearers of the green. We ALL placed under 2:10. VERY impressive. But Dave took the cake: 1:25. Wow, AND he went to do 7 more miles after. A man after my own distance heart!!! If only I could keep up-not even in my dreams. Bumped into Len on the way back to Tom's veeeeehicle, he has the same prob as I-NO sense of direction after a race-he was doubling back. Love that guy, he belongs with us, then again, everyone does.

What a motherfucking HUMID run! Again, 87 % humidididity. EVERYONE said it was the toughest of the series-between the hills, n' the (did I mention?) humidididity. No small wonder, yet, perfect training on The Line. After, hoooked up with our peeps, we all compared notes. Even later still, Tom dropped me off @ The Parkhouse to get my veeeeeehicle. There I bumped into Murph & Mrs. Murph, turns out, with a 7 am start, the run ended coincidentally with the Club Peeps finishing their run. Murph asked if it was still that bitch of a hill @ mile 1, I told him the course changed, but to make it tougher.

***REALLY cool seeing the wearers of the green volunteering-made for a real "at home" feeling @ the run. The Queens clubs did a terrific job. I was left, again, with regret that I moved out of the borough, but hadda do it. (REALLY wish I'd stayed).

Quite an achievement. The Club represented proudly!!!

ANOTHER fine mess I got me into

a.k.a. "seemed like a good idea @ the time"

Went into Manhattan to pick up the numbers for the Queens half-rain was predicted for Sunday so I figured get the numbers for Tom n' Jerry, then all we gotta do is run the fucking thing.

THAT was the plan. But, as we know, all plans......

So there I am, after looking for a half hour for a friggin' parking spot-Manhattan on Saturday SUCKS for parking: between the one hour, two hour, no parking 7-9 am.....SHIT!!! Ok, finally got a spot, figured number pickup wasn't 'til 11:30, so.....what to do, what to do??? Join the training run.

NYRR had a long run scheduled for this am, so, jump in as a bandit. The run was scheduled for one full loop-6 miles, then a 4/5 loop-5 miles, then 2 more, total 20 miles. So, being the fool I am, I did 2 loops. Ouch. I KNOW I'm gonna regret this manana.

bring it!!!!!!

Got my St.Francis on, in the groove this week. Tomorrow's an off day-go, get the numbers, maybe spin.

Terrific morning, another of the "barely sweat" mornings, it was so crisp. Another welcome respite from the humidididity. Thanks G.

Then...later this afternoon, BOOM! Rain! Perfect timing. Got a full week's St.Francis in, logged 'em, now, chill.

Caught the latest Coen Bros. Flick, amazing. They've got the knack. What I find frightening is we see things much the same.

Updates:

1)Spike's computer: STILL @ Circuit City. I'm sure Shebitch expects me to intervene. Nope.

2)Shebitch back to teaching Religion: apparently they don't do background checks.

3)Checking Spike's homework every night. No easy task. He's entered the terrible teens, and to do this with no support is tough, much less with subversion: as Shebitch leaves the house for yet another night out, It tells Keith It doesn't care when his homework gets done. Nice.

4)Boss: wife is out of commission, leg in cast, he's going on and on about the stress of single parenting. Suffice to say I told him "welcome to my world, at least yours contributes financially. Mine undermines me, drags my name through the mud, turned my family against me, and in no way shape or form contributes." He smiled sheepishly. Yes, I DO deserve a trophy. (of course he said the inevitable, that which only guys say because apparently only we get it "cheaper to keep her."

.....so we run...

#200!!!

two-hundredth entry. Wow. Lots o' livin' therein n'est pas?

Got my St.Francis on. Rebuilding the base. After Quebec, hadda repair, then get back down to bidness.

Good thing-about 6 weeks-ish 'til The Big one.

Checked Deb's blog, nice recap of The Trip. More props for our peeps. Lord knows I tried, but really couldn't find a negative-even the goddamned humididididity. Sort'a comes with the territory in marathon land-when you run that far you contract to do it under less than ideal circumstances. My only wish-that it'd been longer-no, not the marathon-weird enough being the only one to do the full-I'm talkin' the trip. Could'a easily stayed a few more days.

What affects me is the disparate backgrounds. All of us have our respective drama. No one's life is as easy as Shebitch's-work, don't contribute, bitch. Yet, they all did something above and beyond, and do so regularly. Wow. And the icing on the cake-and this is why I wear green despite being hideously individualistic and betrothen to no one-we exclude no one. Anyone who wants in is in-just look @ some of the personalities who we love to bitch about, yet include. We'll never redirect. THAT was a cardinal sin of others-elitism. We aren't that special and we know it. We're in it for the good of the collective, through this, we as individuals grow. Beautiful thing really.

the end's in sight

made it through hump day. So far so good.

Got my St.Francis on. MAAAAAN what a morning! Crips, clear, no fog, barely broke a sweat. QUITE a change from last couple of weeks. Felt really good.

Spoke with T last night, pick up the numbers this week for Sunday's half.

Checked the bluepeoplewhoshouldcallitadayandjoinaREALclub's website. Sunday still has the Staten Island Half listed on the calendar. Might wanna update that.

Couple of e mails from peeps who couldn't make the O 2 S. Still convinced, now more so than ever, that if we wanted to, we could've put in a 4th or even 5th team. After hearing about the fun we had-with the pressure of HAVING to place removed, several timid peeps are checking in. Next year n'est pas?

good times just keep a comin'

STILL riffin' off Quebec. MAN what a blast. Put together come cd's of the pix for the peeps.

(Pix down below, also of the O 2 S)

Recovered from the Ocean to Sound, proud of the club, very proud. AND everyone wore colors.
The only down side: as previously noted, REALLY caught on-higher numbers-great for the event, not as great for peeps like me. It was weird, kind'a like: the best of times/the worst of times: lots of acquaintances from dif pieces of my running life-only prob-greeting so many meant less quality time for my peeps. I'm really blown away by the number of friends I've made along the way. Problem was, it was really not possible to have meaningful conversations, everything was fleeting at best. But, if I hadda do it all over again, wouldn't change a thing. We as a club did amazingly, I did what I set out to do. Funny how the other Queens groups don't make it though.

Got my St.Francis on, good thing, POURED rain later in the pm. Just in time for P/T. Arm is KILLING me, but, suck it up eh? ("itbeatsbeinginacastitbeatsbeinginacastitbeatsbeinginacast.") Amazed I pulled off a marathon with a fucked up elbow.

p.s. on the wallet: went to 7-11 this, counter peep said he gave the $20 to my savior, who told him he wouldn't accept it. Upon further pressure, he finally did, saying he was gonna put it in the collection basket in church. Cool. Good karma kiddies. My kind'a guy: do the right thing because it's the right thing.

the hardest to learn was the least complicated

did 86th, felt good. Used it as a rest day. Hadda do somethin'.

Really should'a taken the day off, but.......

E mailed the shots from yesterday. I'm very proud of the club. We have all shapes, speeds, sizes, and we actually got along. Wow.



......the hardest to learn was the least complicated..................

missed it by THIS much.....

dayum, soooooo close. But don't let's get ahead of ourselves.

Yesterday, went to The Park to get the numbers for today. In the process, lost my wallet-yes, again. OK, don't panic, maybe it'll turn up. If not, @ this point, I know the drill.

Later yesterday evening, POURING f-ing rain. OK, STILL, don't panic.

This am, breezy, nice temps, dry. OK, so far so good. Off to 7-11 for coffee, my man behind the counter "I have something for you," my wallet!!! He tried calling me, but too many Ruiz's in H'ville. Everything there, wallet, credit cards etc... I asked if it was a regular who found it, he said yes, in the parking lot. WOW. Left $20 with him, he said the guy probably wouldn't accept it, I asked him to tell the guy his next purchases are free if he wouldn't take the cash. OK, my miracle of the day.

Off to The Park, bought bagels for the day, met Laughlin n' co, off we went. Now, backstory: I wasn't on my "usual" team, as Dave Miles is now a Wearer of the Green. OK, I can deal with that-anybody but me deserves to be on a winning team, especially Dave. Cool. We have in addition to them, a women's team, and my team. OK. So we won't win, but we're there as a collective, looked strong.

Problem: this got too popular. Sayville Running Co had a million teams, a.k.a. the bar's been raised. Too many competitive teams. Our "winning team," Rob's/Dave's, came in 4th-awards were 3 deep. The ladies as well, 4th. DAYUM. We did what we set out to do, ran strong and ran well, just lacked the speed of others. The bar HAS been raised.

We had a blast, beautiful day, GREAT club participation. But it DID hurt that we went away empty handed. Such is life. Can't expect TOO many miracles n'est pas???

it's ON!

ready for the O 2 S ! Can you FEEL the excitement???

Called Tom this am, he was wondering "what the fuck was I thinking" signing up for the NYRR 4m this am-both of us forgot the Labor Day parade-as though Saturday parking in NYC wasn't bad enough.) AND they changed the start of the O 2 S. We'll hook up in the am.

Met my teammates, we'll meet @ 6:30 @ the Parkhouse, I'll ride with Laughlin.

Weather SUUUUUUCKS, but it should be over by early Sun am. Suffice to say, glad I'm not doing the lead legs-though they're flat-but that still shouldn't be a factor. Rain should clear well before Sunrise-or we trade Howard to another club for a member to be named later.

Bonne chance!!!

tgif!!!

2 back to back St.Francis, yesterday n' today. Bright and early!!! Hadda, manana POURING rain predicted-as in: tropical storm.....

Sunday, O 2 S, thus, back to back St.Francis followed by the perfect excuse for an "off day." Do spin class instead.

Groucho was right

"I'd never join a club that would have me as a member."

GREAT meetings tonight.

Had the bored bbq tonight, what a blast. Gillian brought spuds, Helen chicken n' a side dish, Lynn the roles...........truly a fine bunch. We were still high from Quebec, Debbie brought-in addition to drinks and cups, a copy of the paper with Hector horizontal. Collectively agreed, not a negative in the entire trip. Nice.

THEN, miracle of miracles, a membership meeting that didn't suck. Wow. Quite the active club. We actually have 32 more members than last year. I can now die fulfilled. ALWAYS leave a situation better than you found it.

One negative: Tom n' Jerry are no more-for this weekend. He's doing the NYRR Fitness 4m. I'm taking the day off to rest for O 2 S.

summer's greatest hits

1)Quebec: always heard OTHER clubs having fun, why not us??? All it took was one to get the ball rolling, then, with a lil help from our peeps, everything came together. No power trips, no drama, just good karma. AND, something for everyone-5k, 10k, 1/2, full. NEVER liked those clubs who claimed democracy, but were in fact snobbish/exclusive. THIS proved we're "the club with none of the drama, twice the fun/dysfunction." What a total blast from soup to nuts.

2)The Nike Human Race 10k: over a million people worldwide running; 10,000 + on Randall's Island-my first work home, QUITE a show by Nike. Say what you want re: profits etc...they didn't have to do this. WOW. N' what made this special-as well as other races, was I wasn't alone. Tough to be alone with so many peeps, but what I meant is my bud Tom n' his squeeze Terri were there too. Added to the occasion.

3)The Nike NYC Half: Again, big props to Nike. WOW!!! A great race got even better.

4)The Manhattan Run: Curtis, a true gentleman, never fails. AND, great chotchkes-as usual.

5)Keith Ferguson 5k: see above + running on the Brooklyn Bridge. YUMMM.

6)Our club: a.k.a. the lil engine that could. I'm very proud of what we've done. More members, more fun. More gooder.

***along the way, quite the journey. Made some amazing peeps, reconnected with others, once again got validation re: not ALL humans are reprehensible-just the one who took off my ring.

...n' when you really think about it, summer started with a marathon-Long Island. Funny how running pulls it together.

Lost some along the way, so it goes. Gotta follow your path.

hump day already???

love those short work weeks.

Got my double on, St.Francis AND 86th. (yes Virginia, what we lack in speed we make up in distance).

Spike's first day of school. Reminds me of the Staples commercial with the parents doing cartwheels down the aisles of the store. FINALLY, some normalcy. Shebitch can't admit It lacks basic parenting, at least Spike won't be abandoned for 8 hours a day.

Tomorrow, bored meeting/bbq, followed by membership meeting. Knock out 2 birds with one stone.

back to the grind

figured I should take a day off after the 4 days of nuttin' but runnin', but alas, not to be.

Did 86th, glad I did. Nice easy run to jump back into the fray, without wussing out n' resting.

Work actually DIDN'T suck. Amazed. Now, if I was the type to write a million seller based on common sense, I'd do just that. But I'm not, so I didn't. Point being: one monkey don't stop no show/interchangeable parts. The job site got along quite well without me, thank you very much-as well it should. Props to the worker bees.

While there, caught up on e mail, TONS. But the diamond in the shit: Quebec info. Amazing, I'm NOT the only one who felt what they felt. "This was one of the best vacations I'd ever had," was the buzz. The peeps really made it worthwhile. I thank them and their warmth/humor. We each riffed on each other to make it a collective blast. My only regret (you KNEW this was coming), I wish ALL my peeps had been there. Gots'ta take joy where you can, and we had an abundance.

STILL can't believe all the races and all the fun. What a fookin' summer!!!

4 out of 4 !!!

started Saturday evening: the Farmingdale mile.

Sunday am: Manhattan Run.

Sunday pm: Nike Human Race 10k.

Monday am: Long Beach 5m or no? You know the answer. Amazing to see how a self-described "loner," was interacting with several usual suspects. Running bin bery good to me.

Amazing way to end the summer.

Highlights: def the Quebec jaunt. Still can't believe we pulled it off. Props to all involved. Also VERY proud that-with an amazing amount of help, was able to take the club to the next level. Since embryonic, was always told had leadership potential-pity Shebitch can't riff on it. Today the club has tons more possibilities, evidenced through members actually wearing their colors. Nice.

Lowlights: why bother, not that important.

I'm satisfied that every day had purpose, I've reached goals I didn't know I had, and did it all with some amazing people. Despite the unusually high level of crap I live in, my peeps got me through it. Hope they know how important they are. Eagerly awaiting the pending season. Ocean to Sound, Queens Half, our Back Alley(a.k.a. "The XC With Balls"), The Big One. Yummmmmmm.

Rock on peeps!!!