It’s been so long since my last post that I ended “to be continued” I actually had to re-read it so I could figure out how I wanted to proceed. I have some excuses, but in effort to move on we won’t talk about thoseJ.
So as I realized it was for real, I grabbed every piece of clothing in my car to put on hoping it would be enough to keep me warm. Unfortunately, what I really needed were good cycling gloves and shoe covers, and there are no substitutes. Nonetheless, again I was determined (thinking of the blog) that this wasn’t going to be the diary of the wimpy kid. So I threw my 2 pairs of running gloves on and said goodbye to my feet that would surely be sacrificed to frost bite. As we set off, my feet and hands numbed up pretty good, but not as bad as I expected. When we hit the first hill, I couldn’t hang behind the leader anymore because I needed to get my blood flowing. Once I attacked the first big hill, I felt some blood flow to my fingers (sorry feet). After I concluded that I wasn’t going to be penalized my extremities, as if my very realization was the cause, the sun came out making things all that much better. Against all odds…I made it out to the turn-around and (contrary to the wishes of the wind) made it back.
You forgot I had to run after this bike ride didn’t you…me too. Upon arrival Coach Jen, after congratulating us (and razzing me a little), got after us to “practice our transitions”. Ok lady...I’m not planning on having 3 pairs of gloves, a hat, socks, shorts, and a parka to worry about in my transition in Philly. This wasn’t exactly a good trial run to work on transition, but I tried to hurry. After I got my shoes on I started off running. Have you seen “The Office” episode where Kevin goes to Jim and Pam’s wedding with Kleenex boxes for shoes? Imagine those were filled with water and then frozen solid…that’s what it felt like to run after this bike ride. Thud, thud, thud for at least the first half mile. Once my feet began to thaw (or melt…I couldn’t tell), began the needles. It felt like both feet were asleep, REALLY asleep. That lasted for about a mile or so. Once I finally got a little comfortable, I realized I only had a bit to go, so I reveled in the fact that although not a juggernaut in the distance category, this workout certainly was up there on the “bad-a$$” scale.
The week of 3/13 was particularly special. It marked the “silent mile” and family fun event for TNT. It was really great because Jen got to come with me to training to meet the team and to be honored as a cancer survivor. After driving around for a couple minutes trying to find the mysterious entrance to this place, we arrived where we got rememberance/recognition ribbons and Jen got a balloon to recognize her as a survivor. We listened to the honor patients explain what TNT and LLS meant to them. We heard heartwarming stories of survival, and support assisted and provided by LLS. It was really eye-opening to see the impact a handfull of people working at a task for a cause has on someone in for the fight of their life. Fresh off the emotional presentations, we set off; vowing to reflect in silence for the first and last miles of our run. I thought about why I decided to get involved with this (obvious), and thought about the thousands of people who weren't as lucky as Jen to get such a "curable" disease. The kids we all see on the St. Judes commercials with ALL (leukemia), and their families' trials and tribulations. Dealing with the emotional baggage of having a child with cancer combined with the real world consequences. It all seemed so overwhelming. It was somewhat bittersweet as I ran in silence; you feel good that you're doing something, but it makes you feel a little helpless that you're not doing more.
After the silent mile training session we headed down to NKC to “sell” beads at the Snake Saturday parade. I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t good, and didn’t take rejection well. I figured everyone would be happily open their pocket books and throw me money upon request simply because I represented a wonderful cause and had a strand of green beads I knew they couldn’t live without. Like I was the old creepy guy on the float at Mardi-Gras and they were the…well you get the picture. It wasn’t like that at all, and it got to me. Every “no thanks” I heard might as well have been a “What do you think I’m stupid…why would I ever give you money for such an unworthy cause, and stupid trinket” or (and not to cast judgment on the demographic) “Them ain’t Dale Earnhart beads, I ain’t payin’ no $1 for nuthin’ that don’t say Coors, Nascar, or Larry the Cable Guy”. I felt rejected every time. Jen was so much better, probably because she got rejected WAY less. She was a fundraising rock-star machine. Luckily she was willing to do most of the “heavy lifting” while I toted the loot and told my story when asked. Overall the team raised over $1000 for LLS at the parade…way to go TEAM!
Next weekend came March Madness, and it honestly started off pretty good. Jen and I always talked about taking off the first 2 days of the NCAA tournament that just-so-happen to coincide with St. Paddy’s day, because we don’t get anything done at work anyways. So we called it a little celebration/vacation of watching basketball and drinking green beer. To kick things off, I got up on Thursday and set out to run 6 miles. Now, I’m not totally electronically dependent, and can usually tell about how far I’ve gone, about what my exertion rate is, and about how much more I can take. However, on this particular run I decided to go “blind” and let my Garmin do the work. The idea would be 3 miles out, and when Garmin said to turn back I would. Only somewhere between my house and…my neighbors house, Garmin died. I was on my own. So I ran what I thought felt like 3 miles and turned back. When I finally mapped it I had run 7.2 miles.
GREAT! What a way to start the vacation off…little did I know the slump was coming.
To be continued
No really – I made up 2 weeks this time, and I’ll make another post this weekend. I promiseJ
No comments:
Post a Comment