i finally get to write the big dog run report that i have wanted to write for months. the good report. not the report where i am sucking wind, near tears and totally defeated at the end as i bring up the rear. this is not that report.
today was not the day that i desperately struggled to barely keep up on a big dog run. it was not the day that i wondered what the hell i was doing at 5am running with a crazy fast group of people. it was not the day i would come home and write an email to coach begging him to take me off the runs cause i couldn't hack it. (and that day was just a few (more) bad big dog runs away from happening). it wasn't the day i got my ass kicked and came in last yet again.
today was finally the day that i started a run with the big dogs. and most importantly (to me), finished a run with the big dogs. i repeat - i finished a run with the big dogs. not after them. not last. nobody was long done and waiting for me. i finished with them. i could mention that the pace was pretty tame by big dog run standards, but that takes away from the glory i want to bask in for the morning. coach never had to look behind him to see if i was still there. i could actually hold a conversation with people. i felt good and strong. and these are two things i have never felt on a thursday run. until today. today was finally the day.
and because it bears repeating: i finished a run with the big dogs. its a christmas miracle. that, or the hell that is my plan b schedule is finally paying off.
Dec 20, 2007
Dec 19, 2007
the (un)kindness of strangers
another mile repeat day.
i start it the same way i've started them for about five months.
by putting my warmup top and water bottle by the bushes at the end of the lap. and i go do my first lap. i end it only to find that my jacket and favorite water bottle gone. so i am rummaging through the bushes to see if my stuff fell through to the ground. i scan the street to see if i can run down whoever took it. i figure they can't be far - they were in & out in less than 8 minutes. if i had to run them down, maybe i could count it as another repeat. then i start yelling obscenities at the bushes. "are you shitting me?" and "wtf"? - only i said the whole thing, not just the letters. the thing is, bushes don't know who took your stuff. then i hear a lady across the street. maybe she knows who took my stuff. she heard me swearing and she asks what i lost. i tell her the whole thing. how i have been doing this every single week for months. and briefly, the thought of how often i am out there is about as depressing as the fact that my favorite water bottle and cool top are now gone. i apologize for my language. but she's horrified that someone in her neighborhood would do such a thing and says "i'd say the same damn things". i like her. then, to counteract the unkindness of whoever took my stuff she offers up her back steps for me to put all my stuff next time. which was very nice. but still. loved that water bottle.
i start it the same way i've started them for about five months.
by putting my warmup top and water bottle by the bushes at the end of the lap. and i go do my first lap. i end it only to find that my jacket and favorite water bottle gone. so i am rummaging through the bushes to see if my stuff fell through to the ground. i scan the street to see if i can run down whoever took it. i figure they can't be far - they were in & out in less than 8 minutes. if i had to run them down, maybe i could count it as another repeat. then i start yelling obscenities at the bushes. "are you shitting me?" and "wtf"? - only i said the whole thing, not just the letters. the thing is, bushes don't know who took your stuff. then i hear a lady across the street. maybe she knows who took my stuff. she heard me swearing and she asks what i lost. i tell her the whole thing. how i have been doing this every single week for months. and briefly, the thought of how often i am out there is about as depressing as the fact that my favorite water bottle and cool top are now gone. i apologize for my language. but she's horrified that someone in her neighborhood would do such a thing and says "i'd say the same damn things". i like her. then, to counteract the unkindness of whoever took my stuff she offers up her back steps for me to put all my stuff next time. which was very nice. but still. loved that water bottle.
Dec 16, 2007
physics
long run experiment number five was fairly uneventful.
unless you count the howling winds
and the crazy cold.
and the incident.
a minor, yet perplexing snot incident.
i usually blow on the fly.
and this goes off without a hitch.
the snot - goes out, down and back.
never to be seen or heard from again.
until today.
i blow.
and then - wtf?!
the snot
landed
in.
my.
eye.
and so i spent the next mile or so trying to figure out the physics of that.
defying all laws of gravity,
it went out and up and to the left
up and to the left.
that was some magic snot.
unless you count the howling winds
and the crazy cold.
and the incident.
a minor, yet perplexing snot incident.
i usually blow on the fly.
and this goes off without a hitch.
the snot - goes out, down and back.
never to be seen or heard from again.
until today.
i blow.
and then - wtf?!
the snot
landed
in.
my.
eye.
and so i spent the next mile or so trying to figure out the physics of that.
defying all laws of gravity,
it went out and up and to the left
up and to the left.
that was some magic snot.
Dec 13, 2007
easy week
there's nothing like an easy week to remind you that you really do love running.
the workouts have been hard.
i've been feeling slow, defeated & frustrated.
its been raining a lot.
i find myself wondering what i am doing -
why was i out there,
standing at the mile repeat yellow line in the dark?
this week, i remembered.
i am running.
because i love it.
i might have 3 weeks of crazy hard workouts,
but i have this one easy week
to remind me that i still got it.
i remember now.
the workouts have been hard.
i've been feeling slow, defeated & frustrated.
its been raining a lot.
i find myself wondering what i am doing -
why was i out there,
standing at the mile repeat yellow line in the dark?
this week, i remembered.
i am running.
because i love it.
i might have 3 weeks of crazy hard workouts,
but i have this one easy week
to remind me that i still got it.
i remember now.
Dec 11, 2007
finally out the door
i did indeed finally get out the door.
(for those of you sitting on the edge of your seats, wondering)
and the only thing flying was the snot,
cause it sure as shit wasn't me.
which would normally frustrate the hell out of me & bum me out.
but because it's an easy recovery week
and my legs made it quite clear with every step
that they were still feeling sunday's nineteen miles,
i am uncharacteristically not beating myself up over it.
which makes me feel like a rational, grown up runner girl.
it's a christmas miracle, people.
but the day is half done. i may be going back to my 5am thing.
it is strangely, much easier to get out the door.
(for those of you sitting on the edge of your seats, wondering)
and the only thing flying was the snot,
cause it sure as shit wasn't me.
which would normally frustrate the hell out of me & bum me out.
but because it's an easy recovery week
and my legs made it quite clear with every step
that they were still feeling sunday's nineteen miles,
i am uncharacteristically not beating myself up over it.
which makes me feel like a rational, grown up runner girl.
it's a christmas miracle, people.
but the day is half done. i may be going back to my 5am thing.
it is strangely, much easier to get out the door.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)