To most, Tuesday was just another average weekday. I, on the other hand, looked forward to Tuesday with all of the anxious anticipation of a small child counting the days until Christmas. Tuesday was the NYC Marathon lottery. I have been waiting for this day since the moment I crossed the 2015 finish line in Central Park, and by the time it finally arrived I had all but blocked out the possibility that I might not get lucky again this year. Simply, when you want something so badly, it is almost unfathomable to think that you might not get it.
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Choosing How We Greet Our Morning
If you call a law firm, generally you will receive one of two greetings – either a generic “Law Offices” or the rattling off of two to six last names of partners in the firm. It is very business like. Always. Well, maybe not always. Several years ago as a young attorney I was asked to reach out to a lawyer with a solo practice in a small town in the Rocky Mountains. Instead of the expected generic greeting, he answered my call with a loud and enthusiastic: “It’s a great day to be alive!”
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Long Runs: A Love Story
Today, my husband celebrates a milestone birthday: 48. What qualifies it as a milestone you may wonder? After more than twenty-four years together, twenty-three of them as a married couple, this is the year that my husband and I officially have celebrated more birthdays together than apart. And that’s something.
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Running (and Life) Lessons We Can Learn from the Elites
Saturday morning, this was the exchange in our family room:
Husband: What are you doing?
Me: Setting up the TV and DVR to watch the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials.
Husband: Why?
Me: Because I’m going to watch them. (Duh).
Husband: You are going to watch all of it?
Me: Yes. (Again, duh).
Husband: You are going to watch people run 26.2 miles?
Me: Yes.
Confession: I not only watched the full marathon coverage, I watched some of it twice.
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That Extra Mile
After much thought, I have concluded that there are two types of runners. There are those who have to run like they have to breathe. Whether it is 25 degrees and snowing or a sweltering 95 outside, they will figure out a way to get in their miles and beat their bests, motivated by the pure joy they derive from the sport. For them, running is an inseparable part of who they are and, absent injury, it seems to the outside observer that nothing will ever hold them back. Then there is a second class of runners who, for want of a better metaphor, need a carrot (or the promise of guilt-free chocolate) to entice them out the door.
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The Quest for Balance
This country (or maybe it’s just California?) remains in the midst of this weird love affair with yoga. Yoga supposedly is transformative, and (if you believe the hype) will re-shape your body, mind, and entire outlook on life. I want to like yoga, I really do … but every time I try it I come away underwhelmed.
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A New Year: Time to Let Go of All that Was Left Undone in the Last
By almost any account, this is a time to look ahead toward a year that is shiny and new, full of promise and expectation, with yet-unbroken resolutions. But before I bound ahead into 2016, I feel compelled to look back, with some degree of guilt, about items that did not get checked off in 2015.
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Denial and Injuries: A Very Bad Combination
In fewer than two years, I traveled the distance from relative couch potato to New York City Marathon finisher. It was not without discomfort, and there were a few minor bumps along the way, but I pretty much got through unscathed and emerged at the end of the 26.2 miles not a little bit triumphant. Feeling seriously unstoppable pretty much summed up my mood.
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On Running and Writing
Today, I am one-month post-NYC Marathon finish, which honestly is a very strange place to be. As much as race day was cause for celebration, in equal measure today is a day of reflection and reckoning.
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The Importance of Embracing Our Differences - As Re-Learned During a Taxi Ride
Almost two weeks ago, I found myself alone in the back of a taxicab, stuck in New York City traffic, moving more slowly than I could walk. But, my post-marathon legs didn't feel much like walking, and so there I stayed chatting it up with a virtual stranger, exchanging bits of our stories.
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NYC Marathon: Race Report (Spoiler Alert: It Was AWESOME)
Today is the one-week anniversary of my inaugural NYC Marathon, and I have spent the better part of my time since trying to summon the ability to describe the race in a way that does the experience justice. Going into the race, I clearly recognized that it would be big. I watched race videos, I read the runners blogs, I visited New York in the spring and ran Central Park. But still nothing – nothing – prepared me for the tidal wave of emotion and energy that surrounded this marathon.
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It's Not the End - It's Just 40
As a surprise for my 40th birthday, my husband whisked me away to Vancouver Island to an idyllic resort overlooking Brentwood Bay, sans children. It was beautiful, perfect, more than I could have imagined. Which, on reflection, makes my meltdown on the actual Big Day seem even more pathetic.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week 13 (The Hay Is In the Barn)
After I signed up with my marathon coach, I was given access to explore the robust NYRR training site. This also gave me the option of clicking through a week-by-week view of my personalized training plan. You know that moment when you have to decide whether to peek ahead just to see what you are in for, or just let the whole thing roll out over time? Well, I peeked. Oh why did I peek?
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NYC Marathon Training: Week 10 (Mental Toughness)
My coach’s stated goal for Week 10 marathon training was to work on mental toughness. It is self-evident, I suppose, that a runner cannot coax her body to run 26.2 miles without it. However, as the week rolled on, my initial view of the meaning of “mental toughness” changed as both my runs and life threw challenges my way.
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Making the Case for Hard Work
You can chalk this post up to One.Too.Many. “Life Hack” links pinging my social media accounts ... Which got me thinking about the intrinsic value of hard work and figuring things out the long way, and why it is still important.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week Seven (In It for the Long Haul)
A recent article profiled a runner who qualified for the Boston Marathon in each of the 50 states. In my imagination, I envision his buddies offhandedly asking whether he wants to run a marathon next weekend, and this runner nonchalantly replying “sure, sign me up” in the same way that I would throw in for a 5k any given day of the week. In my vision, I am sure that he does not have to prepare, because he is always prepared. Unlike that guy, my warm up to marathon day is a 16-week haul, and I am only now closing in on the halfway point.
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Vacations Reimagined
A husband and wife went on vacation to an island together. They arrived on the same day, left on the same day, and spent every day in between together. Neither engaged in any work while they were there. The wife went on vacation for ten days, but the husband was only on vacation for six. How is this possible?
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NYC Marathon Training: Week Four (Vacation Runs)
Week four of my marathon training was the week that I officially crossed over to the other side. It was the week that I transitioned to one of those crazy people who rearrange their vacation itineraries to make room for long runs. For fun.
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NYC Marathon Training: Week One (The Merits of "Off" Days)
Beginning official marathon training with the NYRR coaching staff embodies everything that is fresh and good about the first week of school. I have daily running homework assignments complete with tips and detailed instructions. Once I get the job done, I use the tracking system to send the details of my workout to my coach and within a day I have email feedback (my report card) from the coaching staff. In Week One, I started to learn some of the workouts and their acronyms that, no doubt, will become rote by Week Ten. Ironically, though, the most important lesson I learned the first week had nothing to do with running at all.
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Life as Told in 13.1 Miles
Race starts are peculiar events to witness. Hundreds of people, in various states of dress and preparedness, are wandering, stretching, chatting, and waiting. Everyone has a story about the journey to the start line, and everyone will have a unique narrative about his or her experience en route to the finish. On Saturday night, this was mine.
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