The Continuing Adventures of Toots and Sally: Two Women. One Marathon. A Dream.
That’s one of my favorite quotes from this trip. I’ll elaborate another day.
We’re back. We’re tired. I’m bitter that I don’t live in Europe. I’m a little thinner. (Camp food was way, way, way bad.)
This is a favorite photo. It was shortly after this photo that I thought I could not finish and get to the top.
I made it to the top.
Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve run in the evening! It’s like 9pm is the new 7am! There were so many people at the park. I forgot how busy summer evenings can be. It really is the best time to get some outdoor physical activity done around here. The evenings tend to be a lot less humid, breezy, and they feel cooler - technically it’s much cooler “temperature-wise” in the morning but the humidity is usually quite horrid. I literally break into a sweat by just walking out the front door to my car when I leave for work each morning. Anyway, the run was pleasant and relaxed, just 2 laps around the asphalt path which is roughly about 2.66 miles. Still just taking it easy….
Did I mention I’m running a half this weekend? A half marathon that is. Don’t ask, I’ll write more about it later.
This past week became somewhat of a “recovery” run week. Honestly I still really haven’t figured out those “recovery runs” yet. In the past I’ve taken anywhere from 2-3 weeks off from running after completing a marathon…this time I just got “antsy” and really felt like running much sooner than before. It’s been a scorcher of a week, everyday hovering at around 98F-100F (and that’s without the heat index!), so I opted to run indoors on a treadmill at the gym with Garner Girt after work on Wednesday…ok, let me rephrase that - I ran on a treadmill while Garner Girt walked on a treadmill next to mine…it was nice company even though it was indoors on a treadmill. It was a 3 miler and the legs actually felt pretty good. On Saturday I tried it again, this time outdoors. I had planned on a 4 miler but instead I was barely able to complete 3 miles…I practically had to crawl home. Thinking back on this particular run, I realized that I wasn’t very well hydrated (been slacking on that a bit since the marathon). I’ve also been eating junk (I can’t seem to be able to stop) and I haven’t been sleeping enough (I don’t know why…school’s over, soccer’s over, I’m not “in training”, I’ve caught up with all my DVR’d shows from months back - wait, maybe that’s the reason - too much TV???). Anyway, technically I have a bit more time in my hands but no self discipline what so ever….
All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy. All headwind and no break makes Lumpy a tired boy.
Entry Number: 302569
Dear “Toots”,
Thank you for applying to the ING New York City Marathon 2008. We’re sorry to inform you that you were not selected in the random lottery drawing. Although we wish everyone could be accepted, we have to limit the size of the field to ensure the best experience for each of our runners….
So…it looks like I’ll be running RNR San Antonio in November.
“I’ve got the whole universe. Planets to save. Civilizations to rescue. … And an awful lot of running to do.”
-Jenny, The Doctor’s Daughter
Seems to me that sums up here nicely. We’ve a whole universe before us. We’ve a planet to save. And a civilization to rescue.
Oh, and an awful lot of running to do.
Well, The Sally is away in The Russia. That means The Lumpy is not at all likely to have anything green and lettuce like. Meanwhile, our planter of lettuce is full!!!
I beat my San Antonio Marathon time by a whole minute…. Ok, so it wasn’t my best marathon, but it was definitely NOT Paris. It has officially been the hardest for me…not so much physically, but rather mentally. It’s like “matter took over mind” and it pretty much affected every single one of my training runs. I don’t recall much of my training…it was hurried and squeezed into all the free moments I had - even the free moments I didn’t have. These last 6 months haven’t really been mine and neither was this marathon…I don’t feel like I “owned it”…rather it owned me. I’m not going to get into it…too much info.
The details? Well, I don’t think my finishing time was horrible…actually I’m surprised it didn’t take me any longer. I had a bit of a tough time with the hills - there were a lot more than I expected. It was warm (in the 70’s) which would not have been so bad (don’t forget, I’m a Texas girl) except that a good part of the route took place along a highway - lots of concrete - it just made it feel that much warmer. The people were great, many Elvi sightings (San Diego RNR was trying to break the Guiness World record for the most Elvises running in a marathon), and I ran behind Dean Karnazes (waaay behind…he finshed in 3:22:54). I thought that was pretty cool. I did experience my 1st official toe wedgie - it’s not like I hadn’t worn these socks or shoes before…anyway, had to stop and fix that somewhere around mile 11. One of the best highlights of the race was getting to meet a few of the Big Cats (myspace running group) who were there cheering for other Big Cats running the marathon. I stopped, introduced myself, posed for a quick pic, and they sent me off on my way with a Payday (thank you, WalkerChick! 
). I wish I had planned this trip better and had a chance to meet up with the other Big Cats who were also running the marathon. Apparently there were quite a few and I actually finished within minutes of a couple of them…but I had never met them in person and didn’t know who they were until after the fact.
I had a great support crew consisting of Punxsk8erdude, Tomate, and Patrick. They got to see me more times than I thought they would be able to (somewhere between miles 6 and 7, again right after the halfway point, and finally at treacherous mile 22). At mile 22, Punxsk8erdude ran along side me for about half a mile…he offered me chapstick and words of encouragement. The field was stretched out enough to where he did not get in anyone’s way. Actually, it got so warm that many runners were walking instead of running at this point…still he was mindful of other runners. I noticed I always seem to “hit the wall” somewhere between miles 20 and 22. Anyway, it was nice to have my little trainer running with me…it kept me going for the final 4.2 miles…it was painful…I thought the end would never come.
The recovery dinner was great. This time there was no champagne involved - instead there were Margaritas - and they were goooooooood!
Now I’m home, tired and somewhat jetlagged - yes, I know it was only California (not some faraway country), but I’m just so tired, drained, and sleepy. Oh yeah, and my toe hurts.
Here are some quotes:
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” — Mark Twain I’m so worried about missing something. People at REI ask me why I travel, and others that I meet…you all know, here, that we travel because we have to, etc………………………
I do not ever want to get to the end of my life and realize that I had some kind of opportunity that I missed that I could have taken or that I disregarded because I thought, “Oh, I shouldn’t. I have X responsibility, or I have Y thing that I have not yet taken care of…”
Maybe that’s why Toots is running never-ending marathons. I worry about this a little, I have to admit. I worry about the stress to your body. …Another discussion for another wine-laden evening. Either way, some of us have to go further and push and run and travel and taste and breathe and live something that is beyond ourselves… we are those people. We are The Limit. We are The Great Experiment. We must know what happens after the normal human experiment. I plan on Dublin ‘09 being my own next marathon experiment/race, but there is much more between. Frankly, doing French teaching, Running for Women, She Runs, and working is pushing beyond. Frankly, being a mom, running, working, living with people who need you, is going beyond. I feel like we’re all tired, and we all have stuff to deal with, yet we come here and post and go beyond.
“Let your memory be your travel bag.” — Alexander Solzhenitsyn -Why not have a purely Russian quote when I’m going to Russia???!!!!
“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli
“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.” — Martin Buber
“A man of ordinary talent will always be ordinary, whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I cannot deny myself to be without being impious) will go to pieces if he remains forever in the same place.” — Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ***I’m willing to put myself, Toots, Lumpy, and Banana in this same category. Am I being cocky?????!!!!
“Why is it that traveling Americans are always so dreadful?” — Dodsworth by Sinclair Lewis
OOOOOH, This is my dread, traveling in the summer in Europe. May Lumpy and I blend with appropriateness. Please, dear lords and goddesses. Continue reading ‘I’m staying up as late as I can.’
