Simply Amazing

My friend Bill Barry completed his 100th marathon last Sunday! Woo Hoo! It was quite a feat. As I mentioned, Bill has suffered from a heart condition, and was unsure when, if ever, he was going to be able to reach his goal of 100 marathons. He has made several attempts in the last few years to close out his 99th with no success. Finally, he was able to finish it in Seattle and was ready to run his 100th. Because he was a founder of our running club, and a mentor to most of us, we wanted to make sure to be there to run it with him.

So, Sunday morning, a large group of us caravaned to Las Cruces, New Mexico which is only 30 miles from El Paso. The weather couldn't have been nicer - 47 at the start and 73 when we finished. There were probably about 20 of us running the whole marathon with Bill, including some old friends who have moved away from El Paso but came back to run with Bill. It was a wonderful mix of people, novices and experienced, old and young.

We ran the first half of the race at a reasonable pace, keeping it easy but steady. We joked around and had our typical running coversations. The course was an out and back, so we had to turn around and head back in at the halfway point. Here, we really started to slow down. Bill was struggling with dizziness (Yikes!), so our main focus was just to keep moving without pushing too hard. At mile 15, we were greeted by Bill's family and a big group of runners from Juarez, Mexico. The Mexico runners joined us, adding new energy and positive mojo to the group, helping propel us to the finish. Along the way we were filmed by local news crews and photographers (I told you Bill is quite the legend), as well as Bill's fan club.

As the run neared the end, more and more people joined the group. Runners who had only run the Half Marathon came back out on the course; runners who had raced the marathon also came back out and joined us. By the time we entered the stadium for the final lap, we had a group of about 50 people. The crowd in the stands stood and cheered for Bill as he ran across the finish line. There wasn't a dry eye in the crowd, including those of us running. Our time was 5:39. None of us were sure we would make it, but we did. Bill dug deep and crossed the finish line, reminding each of us why we are so inspired by him and how important he is to our running community. Congratulations Bill Barry!

Going Deep

Today is Friday. The only thing special about Friday, other than the usual TGIF elements, is that it is the day I get my deep tissue massage from Frank. You may recall that Frank has "magic hands," which translates roughly to "He will commence to cause you unbearable pain that will only make you wish you were getting hit by a truck, so that by the next day you will be able to run pain free once more." I'm not kidding. Frank is due at my house in two hours and I'm already worrying about it, hence the post. He never gives the same treatment twice, half the time you don't even think he is paying attention, and he always makes you scream. But dang it if he doesn't fix the problem. It is amazing!

Now, please don't tell Frank, but I have been cheating on him and going to the Green Tea Massage place right next to my grocery store. It is a little shop, store front, where a small group of Chinese women give THE BEST foot massages on the planet. And they don't make me scream. Much. The first 20 minutes, you soak your feet in a wooden bucket full of very warm eucalyptus water. The lights are low and you are sitting in a big, soft leather chair, covered in heavy cotton towels. Then your masseuse comes out and begins working on your feet and calves. It is heaven! She incorporates reflexology and some deep tissue, but mostly it is just a great massage.

I had a pretty intense day yesterday - a lot of speedwork incorporated into the mileage plus weights - so, today was a pretty light day. I will take tomorrow off, just some walking, and then run the marathon on Sunday. I'm very excited about running with the group. I have never run an entire race with other people, so I am really looking forward to it. And I think the post party will be a blast. Have a great weekend!

Coming up: my opinion of a strawberry bundt cake from Sam's.

Food and Running, As Usual

Okay, I have a commitment from Linda for the cupcake throwdown. It should take place on Friday after she visits a famous New York bakery. She will post details later, but I will just say that I think we have a competition brewing!

I am about to head into my taper for Ultracentric, and frankly, I think I'm ready. It will be 4.5 months since my last race by the time Ultracentric rolls around and I think that is just too long. I talked with my coach, Scott, on Monday and we agreed that I should add one more race to my calendar next year. You don't want to over do it (which is pretty hard when you live in Texas because most of the races are way far away), but you also have to have some breaks in the training schedule. One of the cool runners I follow, Ronda, just finished the Grand Slam, which is 4 tough 100 mile races in less than 4 months! Not only did she finish, she smoked it! I am just in awe. She had to travel all over the country and race at the highest level - this is not a woman who just phones it in. She was such an inspiration! Now, it doesn't motivate me to want to do the Slam, mind you, but I think I can add one more race :)

I'm running the Rio Grande Marathon this weekend with my running group, Run El Paso. One of the founders, Bill Barry, is running his 100th marathon, so our group is going to run it with him. Bill helped most of us run our first marathon, training with us, inspiring us, and in many cases, travelling to the event with us. Recently, he has suffered from a heart condition that has left his running future in question. He has had to pull out of several marathons after he has had problems mid-race. Everyone is so happy, and relieved, that he is cleared to run this weekend! Bill is the pillar of our running community, so it will be a great event to run his 100th as a group. After the marathon, we are having a big celebration at a local vineyard - a perfect setting for runners!

I think I have finally figured out how to post photos, so I promise to start adding some. Yesterday, I had the most beautiful canal run replete with herons, ducks, and a beautiful flock of white dove. I wished I had a camera (and that I knew how to post), because I would love to share some of what I get to see every day while I'm running. I love to see where everyone else is running day in, day out. It adds so much to their blogs. Kind of like vacation photos, but interesting :) !

The Perfect Pair of Jeans a.k.a the imperfect workout

I spent the last few days trying to think of something interesting and fun to say about jury duty. But truth to tell, there is nothing to say other than it was a difficult case and I’m glad it’s done. To get the awful details out of my head, I decided that there was no better way to do that than to shop. So while Carilyn was running marathons and putting in massive milage on the treadmill, Linda was shopping for the perfect pair of jeans. But really, a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do.

This week I am getting a new author photo taken. I’m going to wear your basic little black dress on the steps leading to the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. But I also want to get other shots looking "real." Hence the thought to get jeans. Jeans, white shirt, fun shoes. I started at Bergdorf Goodman where I bought a pair of James Jeans. While they are great, when I got them home they felt verra young. So I went back out, headed to Saks Fifth Avenue in hopes of finding a pair that weren’t too young, but also weren’t mom jeans with a waist up to my neck. Saks has a huge jean department, but the young, impatient woman who helped me was, well, not very helpful and she couldn’t seem to get her mind around the thought of “not too young.” We pulled several pairs for me to try, and by the time I left the store I was certain that the Perfect Pair of Jeans didn’t exist. Next stop, Bloomingdale’s, though not before stopping at my all time favorite burger place, Burger Heaven for a cheeseburger, french fries, their amazing pickle relish and an extra chocolate, chocolate milkshake. By the time I got to Bloomies, I had gone up a full pant size. Whatever, I found a pair there that I still don’t know what to think about. I actually like them, but I keep remembering this photo of me from my junior year of college (with a boyfriend who I would like to forget, much like the facts of my jury duty) and I swear they are the same jeans. What’s old eventually is new again?? I returned to Bergdorf thinking maybe I missed something (I hadn’t), then made my way to Barney’s. Couldn’t find anything there, though that was probably due more to sheer jean overload than anything else. With arm muscles aching from pulling tight jeans on and off all day (who needs a weight room), I made my way home with two pair of jeans. I still need the white shirt and shoes, but just the thought of more shopping makes me shudder. The photo shoot just might have to be me, the steps, and the little black dress. Forget the jeans.

All You Need is . . . a Cupcake!

I am now calling for a cupcake throwdown with my sister. As I have said before, Linda has been blessed to live in the land of cupcakes. Seriously, there is a cupcakery on every corner in Manhattan. In El Paso, none. Until now. As I reported yesterday, I saw that a cupcake shop opened right by my house! Yeah! So, my kids and I moseyed over to CupcakesandCookiesbyT.com and bought 5 cupcakes. Oh. My. Gosh. I challenge my newfound cupcakery to any bakery in NYC. Yes, Linda, El Paso now has fabulous cupcakes.

I just finished eating a chocolate with buttercream icing and am truly in heaven. As soon as I figure out how to post photos, I will take a picture (oops, I guess that means I have to go buy another chocolate cupcake!) and show you how scrumptious it was. Moist, chocolatey goodness topped with the lightest, fluffiest buttercream icing I have ever put in my mouth. Mmmmm. Next, I plan to try the Yin Yang cupcake, a swirling concoction of chocolate and vanilla cake with complementary icing. I think I'll give myself a rest, though. Like maybe 5 minutes. Don't want to rush it.

Now, on to running. Funny that my portion of the blog is supposed to contain a ton of information about running but I seem to spend an awful lot of time talking about food . I had a verrrrrrrrry intense deep tissue massage from Frank last night, so I ran verrrrrrrry gingerly this morning. As my friend Enrique says, Frank has magic hands, but he causes a lot of pain. And I have found that if he really works me over, I have to be careful the next day or I will have problems for several days after. I have a chronic back problem, plus the usual high mileage aches and pains. Frank keeps me fresh and able to run without significant injuries (knock wood), but sometimes the cure feels worse than the problem! Tomorrow I'm scheduled to run long with a woman training for her first marathon in over 10 years, so I'm looking forward to a fun run. I love running with new people. The miles fly by because you get to learn so many new things about someone.

Okay, I hate to rush off, but a cupcake is calling me!

Treadmill Time!

This morning, I had to run 20 miles on my treadmill. My husband was out of town, and I couldn't leave my kids home alone at 5:00 am to go run with the group, so the treadmill it was. I had rented "Who the *%$# is Jackson Pollack?" a documentary about a 73 year-old female truck driver who found a presumed Jackson Pollack at a thrift store for $5.00. I love quirky movies, and this one definitely fit the bill - especially because it is true! Teri Horton (the woman) is quite the character, and the movie is genuinely charming, so the first couple of hours of my run went by pretty quickly. Next, I watched "The Flying Scotsman," the true story of Graeme (pronounced Graham) Obree, the world champion cyclist. Again, a very entertaining, quirky movie (complete with subtitles because the Scotch-English is so hard to understand), so I made it through the last 7 miles without going totally bonkers! I will finish the rest of the movie later. I've managed to log a lot of miles this week, but none of them have been particularly fast. I was a little tight after the marathon, so I didn't want to risk injury. Next week, I hope to ramp it up a little because then I start to taper.

Last night, because both of our hubbies were out of town, Linda and I talked on the phone for a couple of hours while I made and ate dinner (turkey and swiss panninis, french fries, and mint chocolate chip milkshakes - quite the healthy meal. I hope my coach isn't reading this:). It was so much fun! I love talking on the phone with my sister. We got on the internet and checked out new releases on Barnes & Noble (we both LOVE to read). We dissected several of our favorite novels and then moved on to movies. While our tastes are not really the same, we do overlap in some areas. We also both try to at least give each others' recommendations a go. Sometimes we are surprised at how much we like a book or movie that we assumed we would hate! I think that is why Linda is such a good writer; she is a true reader. She really appreciates the works of other writers, and a great story. I love that about her.

So, we are off to Barnes & Noble to get a few of the books Linda and I talked about last night. I am so excited! There is NOTHING better than a great book (well, maybe that isn't entirely true...).

P.S. A new cupcake place opened up right by my house! I'm going over there today to check them out. I'll let you know what I find!

Just a Quick Update

Training is going well, but there just never seems to be enough hours in the day to get everything in! The weather is gorgeous here, mid 50s-70s, so the running is fantastic! Gratefully, nothing dramatic has happened - no skunks, robbers, or flat tires - so life is pretty good. We have a three day weekend coming up, so I'm hoping to get in lots of running, and hit a few of the local apple, chile, or Renaissance festivals. My kids love them. Since we are on the border of two states (Texas and New Mexico) and two countries, there is always a lot of diverse activity going on.

I also want to head over to Hueco Tanks to watch the professional rock climbers practice. Every year, the best of the best head to El Paso for Fall/Spring rock climbing. They camp out and climb every day for weeks. It is truly fascinating to watch them work/play. I'm completely freaked out by heights, so I am in absolute awe of the climbers. Nerves of steel.

Tonight is the season premiere of Project Runway, so I am trying to get everything wound up in time to curl up in bed by 8:00. I love that show! Top Chef runs a close second, although it makes me hungry!

Tomorrow is hills/tempo work. I'm heading back down to El Secundo Barrio. Hopefully nothing scary happens!

Marathon 2 Marathon

This weekend was my run to Marathon, Texas, the entrance to Big Bend. If you have never been to West Texas, you are missing one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The views define panoramic, as you can see forever in every direction. Wildlife abounds, with deer, elk, hawks and tarantulas being just a few of the critters we saw while touring the area. It was truly breathtaking.

As was the run. I really had not paid much attention to the course description (which was, frankly, kind of sparse on the website), so I missed the 1500 foot elvation gain at the start of the race. In fact, the first 15 miles were mostly uphill! We climbed from 4500 feet to 6000 feet by mile 15. What? This was a training run for Ultracentric. And there are no hills at Ultracentric. Throw in a nice headwind and a course that is run ENTIRELY on the shoulder of a two lane highway with 70 mile per hour traffic, and you have one not-so-fun marathon. Every time a truck would roar past, I had to grab my hat because the gale force wind would knock it off, and practically knock me over!

Anyway, I stayed true to my plan of running by feel and not pace, focusing on the effort. I needed to have a solid effort, but not one that required any tapering or recovery. I was a little concerned midway through that I was going to blow up no matter how conservative I was running, but then I hit mile 15 and things began to look up. Nothing like a downhill to improve your mood! This was also when my husband and sons started meeting me every two miles at the aid stations. There is nothing more uplifting than seeing your loved ones waiting for you. It always gives me so much energy. And the other runners were great! Everyone was cheering each other on because we all realized it was much more challenging than anticipated. There was so much good energy on the course!

The finish line was right in front of the Gage Hotel, which has to be one of the coolest hotels I have ever seen. We tried to get a room for the night, but they were completely booked. The management was so nice though, that they let me take a shower. How is that for hospitality? We decided it was well worth another trip to Marathon just to stay there. At lunch, we talked to some people who had just gone river rafting down at Big Bend and then were spending the weekend at the Gage. It sounded like a total blast!

The good news is that I came in second place overall female (first in my age group) and don't feel sore or tired today. You never really know until the day after, and with all the climbing, I was a little concerned I would need a few days to recover. My running buddy, Gilbert, is always telling me that climbing builds character. I guess I have some work to do!

Got Whipped Cream?

So this is the thing. Clearly I taunted the Jury Duty gods. In July, I told a friend who had been summoned for jury duty that I had been called three times before. Once as a mere babe out of college. Once in New Jersey years later—not that many years later. Then again in NYC just after 9/11 (which is a whole other story for another day.) But I have never been chosen, despite (or because of) the arm waving and pleas of Please please please pick me to the assorted judges and attorneys. I had a whole slew of reasons I wanted to serve: life experience, see what a real trial is all about, as a writer how can you not want to see how justice is really done, and/or I am nothing if not loaded with opinions. Not a week after I say this than my fourth jury summons appears in the mail. And this time, when I am madly working on my new book and getting ready to leave for two more book signings in Texas and Kentucky, I get picked. So that is what I have been doing, getting up at 4:30 to get work done before I head downtown with the very same masses that I ALSO taunted in the earlier post about people on their way to work. No wonder they don’t want to hear crazy iPod lady singing loudly. Riding the subway during rush hour is a NYC adventure I’ll be glad to check off the master list of NYC experiences and be done with.

On the Goji juice front, I am drinking it every day and getting used to it, thankfully, since I ran out of pumpkin pie, and eating whipped cream straight is beyond even me—though probably only because it comes in one of those aerosol cans with the nozzle (it’s organic and real, really) and pointing it towards my mouth to get a taste only served to give me a face full of whipped cream, not a mouth full. (If you see a picture of me, I swear I don’t look demented.)

As to your MISadventure on the road, Carilyn, perhaps we should rename you Lucy Ricardo. Oops, I’ve already got dibs on Lucy.

More when the verdict is in…..

UNCLE!

Today started with such promise. I awoke before my alarm after a fairly pleasant night's sleep, still basking in the warmth of the wonderful birthday day I had yesterday. I had a hot cup of strong coffee before I met my running group at Starbuck's for our regular Thursday run. This is one of those runs that I love because I would never do it alone. We run downtown, to the international bridge that takes you to Mexico, through El Secundo Barrio, around the industrial section of town, over a highway overpass, and back up to the center of town. And all of it is in the dark. It has just enough feeling of danger to be fun, but since I'm with a group of about 20 people, not scary. Until today.

About 30 minutes into the run, I am back of the pack with my friends Nathan and Gilbert. Nathan and I are running the Marathon to Marathon this weekend, so we are just cruising along. Gilbert is hanging back with us because he had put in some hard runs earlier in the week. The bulk of the group is several blocks ahead. When we reach the heart of El Secundo Barrio, we hear a woman scream. We look over and see an elderly woman with a cane being robbed. Gilbert springs into action, "Let's go!" and takes off after the robber. Nathan follows. Okay. You know what happens next: I follow Gilbert and Nathan. We chase this guy down alleyways and streets. In the dark. But to no avail; he gave us the slip. Not that we would have known what to do with him anyway. A business executive, a track coach, and a soccer mom - the new Mod Squad.

Anyway, I was so excited to get home to tell Tim of my adventure. As I exit my vehicle in front of our house, I am hit by the most noxious smell - something akin to burning tires. The closer I get to my front door, the stronger the smell gets. When I open the door, I am practically knocked over by it.

"What happened?" I yell from the entry.

"Rocky got skunked," Tim yells back from the kitchen where he is busy opening windows.

"Inside?" I asked, not fully understanding the situation.

"No," Tim says, clearly intending to leave it at that, but I rounded the corner just then and gave him the eye. "He got skunked and then I let him in the house."

"What?!"

And it just degenerated from there, but I won't bore you with any further details in case you are squeamish. So, after taking my poor stinky children to school (the smell permeates EVERYTHING), I headed out for a nice long run on the river with my non-skunked dog, Rex. We ran for 2 hours, in the dirt, climbing over rocks, cruising on canals. It was bliss. When I returned home, I called my friend Laura to tell her about my run and the skunk.

"Why aren't you at your birthday lunch?" she asked in a panic.

Oh. My. Gosh. I was missing my own birthday lunch. People were waiting for me. So, I had no choice but to change into clean running shorts and shirt and head over to the nice restaurant where all of my friends were dressed in pretty luncheon clothes. I was covered in 3 hours of running sweat, dirt, AND I smelled like a skunk. Then, because enough is never enough, when we left the restaurant, Ingrid pointed out that I had a flat tire. Yes.

After toying with the idea of having my kids take a cab home so as not to expose them to my bad chi, I came to a few conclusions about this day:

1. I have running friends who will chase down a robber in the dark, in the ghetto, to retrieve and elderly woman's purse, without thinking twice;

2. I have river banks and canals to run on right outside my door, and a dog who loves to run on them with me;

3. I have girlfriends who will throw me a birthday lunch and not say one word about how I'm dressed or how I smell;

4. I have a very observant friend who saw my flat tire so that I was able to get it fixed the day before I would be driving on a desolate highway for 4 hours with my husband and children in the car.

So, all in all, it's been a pretty good day.

Semi-Solid Gold aka Movie Popcorn

Is there anything better than movie popcorn? With a real Coke? Seriously. I can eat an entire large bag by myself, and I did just that today. I went to see "The Jane Austen Book Club," and, what is the point of a movie if you don't eat the popcorn? The movie itself was pretty good, too. But don't take your husband (although boyfriends are still required to sit through these types of movies). It is pure sap. And as Linda mentioned earlier, I'm not big on sap. The caveat to this statement, though, is that I looooooooove sap in movies. I just don't like to read it. I have no idea why my feelings differ depending on the form. Heck, my favorite movie is "Love Story." I mean, come on, it doesn't get much sappier than that - "What can I say about a girl who died? That she loved Bach, the Beatles, Beethoven, and me. Da da da da daaaaaaaaa." It makes me misty just typing it. But I flat out cannot read ANYTHING by Nicholas Sparks. My gagometer hits the red zone.

On to Goji juice (NFI). Yes, I did see Dr. Oz (or Mahmet as I like to call him, as "Doctor" is simply too formal for anyone who discusses the consistency of his poo on national TV) touting the wonderful health benefits of the goji berry on Oprah. Linda is right. It tastes funky. But you only have to drink a little, so I'm just taking a swig and hoping for the best. I take quite a few vitamins/supplements, so I'm just tacking it on to the routine.

On the running front (I know I'm supposed to focus on this, but there were a few other verrry important topics to get out of the way first), I have finished my mileage for the day: 10 with Ingrid and then 10 by myself later. Now I just have weights and pilates left. I'm running a marathon this weekend for a training run, so I don't want to get crazy this week. I'm pacing a friend, and I don't want to be a liability to him. Nothing makes you remember a marathon like having to give your Pacer CPR!

Liquid Gold a.k.a. Goji Juice

Carilyn, you’re here!! Too funny about “getting” to read what I write since Carilyn reads everything I write, whether she wants to or not when whole chapters show up in her e-mail with no warning. In what I know is a moment of pure sap (which I happen to love and she hates) I am lucky to have a best friend who also is my amazing sister.

But I digress…. She Who Also Writes This Blog--but who will remain nameless in this particular discussion since I haven’t a clue if she ever did anything about this subject and she may not want ANY part in it--said she heard Goji Juice is being talked up as the new Fountain of Youth by none other than Oprah Guru, Dr. Oz. Given that I am trying to fight off the effects of aging with a stick plus every cream, gel, scrub, peel (natural and otherwise), I decided I would take the plunge. I went to a supermarket (yes, we have them here—okay, maybe super-ish market) and got a bottle for $7.99. Turns out this brand contains much less actual Goji juice, so you have to drink significantly more of it to get the recommended serving. And let me just say this is some foul tasting stuff. I held my breath and chugged 8 ozs like a frat boy at a kegger. It took me the rest of the day to recover.

Not to be deterred, and determined to doggedly pursue anything that swears it will make me glow with vitality, I went to the health food store and purchased 100% Goji Juice—which, by the by, is a whole lot more expensive than $7.99/bottle. Good news is that you only have to drink an ounce and a half twice a day. So I poured out a shot and threw it back. Let’s just say that I will probably never be a big fan of the taste, and had to follow it up with a pumpkin pie chaser. The price of beauty. I will keep you posted re: the results in a few weeks…..

Tomorrow I have jury duty…...will report in when I’m done.

I'm a Blogger!

I am so excited to be blogging with my sister, Linda! I have wanted to blog forever, but have felt rather intimidated by the whole process. I love reading other people's blogs, but have been afraid to commit to my own. When Linda said we could do it together, I thought, "Yeah!" Now, it's half the work and twice the fun! My kind of activity!

The best part about this blog for me is that I get to read what Linda is writing. As you've probably already figured out, she is just about the funniest person you will ever meet. She can make me laugh like nobody else. You know that kind of laughing where you are spraying milk out of your nose and running to the bathroom? Ever since we were little she has made me laugh like that - which is why we talk on the phone just about every day. I need my medicinal fix of laughter!

On the personal front, I am a stay-at-home mother of twin boys. While they are sleeping, or at school, I am running. And running. And running. I run so much because I am an ultrarunner, someone who runs distances greater than the marathon. I personally like to run distances greater than 100 miles because... well, I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe this blog will help me get to the bottom of it! Right now I'm training for the National 24 Hour Championships - Ultracentric- taking place in Grapevine, Texas next month. I hope to exceed my personal best of 118.25 miles in 24 hours. And not die. If the blog disappears after mid-November, you will know why :)

Running As Fast As I Can . . . in Central Park

The beauty of NYC is that no one blinks twice over whack jobs, weirdos, or assorted whatnots (no wonder I like it here!) as long as said WWWs aren’t infringing on the imaginary, but very real, lines NYers draw around themselves. Case in point: this morning I head to the park to run, happen upon the neighborhood raving homeless man and a woman dressed in fishnets, hooker heels, black and pink hair (it’s morning), both mixing seamlessly with busy, suit-dressed men and women on the way to work. There was nary a blink of an eye. But then comes a woman, clearly out to get her run in before she joined the suit-clad masses on her way to Wall Street, running with headphones, singing out loud (loudly, and not even a good song) in what appeared to me to be a desperate effort to finish up a torturous run. SHE pissed people off. SHE was interrupting people’s quiet space. SHE crossed people’s lines. I say whatever it takes to finish the run. (And people say I have control issues. Snort.)

As to my run (and all you runners who found this site due to Carilyn’s massively great ultrarunning, don’t dismay, she will be here, and my slug running should in no way mar her athletic reputation) I shuffled up to the Reservoir and back. Two miles—ten minutes up, nine and a half back. But let me tell you, given my past life as a fairly serious runner (used to put in 77 mile weeks—yes, I’m being defensive) I shuffle with damn good form. All this is to say that my goal is to pick up the pace and the mileage. I had gotten up to 5 miles this summer, but then life got in the way and the next thing you know, I’m back down to slugging out a miserable two. Maybe I should start singing out loud…..

Hold On Loosely, But Don't Let Go (by 38 Special)

I have this thing with control. A real love-hate relationship with it. What I don't know is if it's a good thing, or if it's bad. For everyone who needs control, I hear the scoffs of: "Of course it's good, even necessary in this world." But I also hear the people who prefer less manhandling in life, saying: "Quit fooling yourself. You may think you have control, but hello, you don't." (Note to self aka Sybil: Perhaps you should be more concerned about the two voices in your head than your control issues.) The point is, for the next 6 months (or whoever knows how long) I simply want to live....run, read, and write.....and then talk about it here. Maybe it will keep me conscious. Maybe it will simply be fun. Maybe it will be a huge disaster. (Hence the no guarantees on the time line.) But the long and short of it is, this is my attempt to hold on loosely without having to let go. Then see what happens.....