The Finish

My right leg is not so sure it wants to play the game any more. My quad is doing this funny thing, where I step on my right foot and the quad holds for a second and then gives way. I catch it before totally collapsing, so it looks pretty funny.

First thing after crossing the finish line:

MY MEDAL

There are numerous volunteers standing in the pathway that we get funneled to. I am just trying to stay upright and look like I am not going to collapse. I get to the volunteer and she attempts to hand me my medal. My little voice says to me "No freakin' way after running this am I gonna put my own medal around my own neck. NO FREAKIN" WAY." I also really appreciate volunteers, so I know they have probably been standing there for hours, dealing with runners who are in various moods. So, I look my volunteer in the eyes as she is holding my medal out and I just slightly bend at the waist and offer her my head.

God Bless this woman - SHE GOT IT!

The medal got placed around my neck and I heard congratulations from all of the medal distributing volunteers around. I was so proud of me. I didn't know my time for sure and I did know I finished in under 5 hours. Did you hear that? I finished in under 5 hours.

Let's be clear - I was going to be proud that I finished. My starting and finishing was not an "of course", given what my body went through. I was going to brag and be puffed up that I finished. That I finished in under 5 hours was "sky writing worthy" as far as I was concerned.

There was a smile on my face that would not stop.

Next stop, the post finish photo:



I Did It!

Then the mylar blanket thingie got put on me and then someone taped it on so I didn't have to hold it on. I was starting to get the shakes from being so sweaty and starting to get cold.

From there we inched, and I mean inched, our way to the UPS trucks. On the way, we got our post finish fuel and fluid bag. I drank the entire bottle of water and started on the pretzels. They stayed down very nicely.

I spoke with a woman from Finland. She came to NYC just for the marathon. Seems that is another way one can get a bib. She was so happy. She actually had fun....... tried to wrap my brain around having fun running the marathon, couldn't do it, but I got that she really had fun. She couldn't wrap her brain around that it was not fun for me. I loved doing it. I loved that parts that entertained me, I loved the parts I hated. I loved it all and, let me tell you, it was not fun.

Finally got my UPS bag and inched closer and closer to getting out of the park.

Steve called to find out where I was and where I would be exiting. I was still a bit 'out of it' and told him the signs I saw.

The Blur Continues

The truth is, the rest of the marathon was just one big blur.

I was physically not well. My quad hurt, my knee was screaming and my ankle was starting to make the whole thing into a trio. I thought I could throw up at any point. I even tried to drink some Gatorade at a Fluid Station.

At some point, I saw the time clock. I did some math and knew that if I stayed at this walking pace, I would not finish in under 5 hours.

Time to Be Bold and Dig Deep, Lynnie. This is it!

I tried various strides and various 'forms' and finally found one that had me moving and the pain was tolerable.

It was ugly - I saw photos of it and I laughed, right out loud. My shoulders are up around my eye lobes, my elbows are way far out and my back is curved. I just needed to get to the finish line.

The crowd did not bail on me. I heard my name more than I can count. There were comments about my power walk. People were so awesome, I was forced to raise my head and smile at them. The crowd got me through the last 2 miles.

One guy totally pissed me off.

After passing the 25 mile marker and trying the Gatorade (it did no harm and did not help), some spectator on my left yells out "Only a half mile to go." Okay, I say, at this pace, I bet it's 100 right foots per tenth of a mile. This is a game I would play with myself while training. My 'good stride' was 80 right foots per tenth. So, I say, you can do 500 right foots. You can.

I start counting.

Son of a Bitch! at 170 right foots, there is the .5 mile official marker.

I was crestfallen.

I did not slow and I did not stop. I started counting again.

There was the finish line.

IT Band Starts To Play

My father likes to say something like this: "I was perfectly healthy until I went to the doctor and then suddenly I had all these problems."

I went to Dr Gennaro because of the pain in my quad that was preventing me from running. I have never, ever been more thoroughly examined. He checked things and measured things that I didn't even know mattered.

He discovered that I had bursitis in my hip and IT Band irritation. He kept asking me if my right knee bothered me. It never did. When he or Heather touched the IT Band, it was tender, but my knee never bothered me while running. It was my right quad all the time.

So, here I am, somewhere on the Willis Avenue Bridge and my right knee starts to talk to me. My quad was already on the verge of yelling but that was a conversation I was accustom to. It was not a shock or jarring. When the right knee decided it wanted to talk, I was "You wanna talk now?" "Really?!"

When we hit the decline of the bridge, both the quad and knee were yelling and yelling loudly. I was in tough shape. They quieted to an 'outside talking voice' once we were on level ground.

Somewhere around this time, Danielle had to use the PortaJohn. I was running alone. Then..... there is Michelle, Kyle and Melissa and Melissa jumped in to run with me. She is training for the Vegas Half-Marathon in December. It was so perfect for me. Once she jumped in, my knee and even my quad shut up. I mean, not one peep out of them. She loved that people were calling me by name - I gotta say that continued to be very cool - she talked about how she enjoyed this blog and other things. She was a joy to run with and she made my injuries shut up for a mile or so.

At some point after Melissa peeled off, Danielle caught up to me. It was like the angels came down from above and started that harp music and all was right with the world.

That is until somewhere, I do not know for sure where, a red hot knife came out of no where and stabbed me in the right knee. I almost fell over, it hurt so badly. I stopped running and it was all I could do to keep moving forward, some how. Danielle was gone and I was all by myself with my knee not playing fair and somewhere around 2 miles to go.

Just Keep Putting One Foot in Front of the Other

Soon after getting rid of my nagging thought about my Pigskin Pool Picks, Danielle says to me "There is your sister again". Michelle was wearing this purple t-shirt:





And, of course, in true Big Sister form, she had my FuelBelt bottle and it was full. I quickly grabbed it and went on my way.

I was starting to get nauseous. I never got nauseous during my long runs. This was odd. I had cut my PowerBars up into bite size pieces, as I learned in my long run in Yorktown how hard a PowerBar is in 48 degree weather. I had bite size pieces and just popped one in my mouth. A few minutes after swallowing it, my tummy was not happy. I tried more water, my tummy was still not happy.

Then I remembered that Carrie was going to be at Mile 15 and she was going to have a banana for me. I could make it to Mile 15.

I saw Kevin and Steve again at 14, this time they got video. I saw it later and anyone can tell that by then, all form was gone, my hip was compensating for my quad hurting. I did not know then that I was hurting, in my mind, I was still moving well.

Okay, not much further and I can have that banana and stop this awful feeling in my stomach.

I saw the 15 miler marker and started looking and looking for Carrie, I looked and looked and looked and then, then looked some more. Okie dokie, I say, no banana in my future.

By this time, the subways had thrown all of my peeps plans out the window. I knew this was possible, as last year Jimmy and I missed Doreen at mile 18. I just kept moving, allowing all of the peeps who did not know me, but knew my name, to support the crap outta me. Every time I heard someone yell "Way to go, Lynnie" I grinned from the inside out. My feet felt the grin and moved faster.

The Queensborough Bridge is sorta mile 15 and 16. We had already traversed the Verrazano and the Pulaski - I have zero memory of the Pulaski but it is there on the map, so I must have crossed it. After we cross the Queensborough Bridge, we come into Manhattan for the first time. I read all this stuff about the roar of 1st Avenue, about how it stays with people forever and blah, blah, blah. I gotta say - it was nothing for me. I heard nothing any different than any other place on the course.

Can I just say, I hated 1st Avenue. The spectators were in cages. I know they weren't cages, but the were behind silver bars. They were pushed back onto the sidewalk so far that they were not within reach. No high-fives, nothing personal. The only possible people to make human contact with were the cops and they were so busy keeping people in their cages that the whole avenue just sucked.

Once the suckitude that is 1st Avenue was done, we headed over the Willis Ave Bridge to get into the Bronx. Somewhere in the early incline, a banana appears in front of my face! It was a miracle. On the other end of the banana is Carrie! I think I even said "Thank God!" I tear into the banana and take a bite. It tasted so good. It hit my stomach and it was not a good idea. I thought I just might puke right here on the bridge, while running. I realize Carrie is running with me. She is in her street clothes and she is running with me. Danielle is staying at our 'usual' pace and I am slowing to Carrie's pace. I told her that the banana is making me queasy and I give it back to her. She asked me if I was digging deep and many runners around laughed at that. I then told her I could not lose Danielle and she helped me look for her in the crowd and I took off to catch up.

I loved the Bronx, not as much as I loved Brooklyn, but the Bronx was a great feeling after the 'stick up one's buttness' of 1st Avenue.

You Were Worried About What?

Somewhere in Brooklyn, one of the drunken house parties was all decked out with NY Giants gear. I am a Steeler fan (minus the Big Ben fan part) but I do appreciate die hard fans of any team.

As we are running by that house, Danielle yells out "Go Giants!"

My heart goes into my throat as I realize......... I did not make my Pigskin Pool picks.

When I first let Alex into my life, I knew crap about football. I knew the rules and I knew how it was played and I knew stuff, but I knew crap. He slowly taught me about the NFL. He slowly taught me about playing on the road, about the kind of offense teams have and how they gets smashed by 'bad' teams who have a certain kind of defense.

Who Wants to be a Millionaire had a message board provided by ABC when the show was in it's prime. I started posting on it when I said "I am going to be on WWTBAM". The board got cancelled by ABC and the Board moved around the internet over the years and is now privately managed.

We have a pigskin pool each year. I have become a contender over the years.

The week before the marathon, I took second place.

A zero for this week would ruin the entire season.

Here I am, running in the marathon, obsessed with not having made my picks. I can't let it go.

Then, I start thinking (as I am apt to do) "What can I do?"

I came up with an answer!

I would be seeing Alex at some point before 1:00PM (the picks had to be done before kick-off). He knows enough of my screen names and he knows a couple of my passwords and one of the ones he knows is the one I use on ESPN - so I knew he could fix it for me.

Sure enough, somewhere in Brooklyn, there was Doreen and Alex. I saw them just as I was passing them, so I turned around, ran back and looked him in the eye. I said "I forgot to make my Pigskin picks. Can you fix it for me?" Then I took off to catch up with Danielle.

The thought was gone.

He did not produce the result, I went from 2nd to 12th, but the result of the day was to have that off my mind and that worked.

The First 11 Miles

Let's review:

I had come into this marathon injured. My last long run was the 16 miler on October 3rd. I had a 5 miler on October 5 and an 8 miler on October 6. I did nothing but limp and ice and stretch the week of October 10. I did 5 deep water running sessions the week of October 17 and twice the week of October 25.

On October 26, I set out to jog and was stopped cold by the pain in my quad. The next 2 days I hit the elliptical for an hour each day. I did run 4ish miles on the 30th, then did 90 minutes on the elliptical on October 31. I ran 3 miles on November 2 and again on the 3rd and walked 3 miles on the 5th.

I missed the two 18 milers on my training schedule and the taper of a 9 miler and then an 8 miler.

So..... I had no, that is zero, evidence of how long I could actually run. I was starting the marathon determined to see how long I could run for before I had to walk.

I have no idea how this could have happened, but I got to the place where the orange, green and blue corrals merged and my quad had not even whispered to me. I felt strong.

I saw Steve and Kevin at 8 and then before I knew it, there was Michelle in her purple Run To Remember t-shirt somewhere in mile 9. I had finished 1 of my fluid bottles in my FuelBelt. I didn't think I would make it all the way through on what was on me. Before starting the marathon, I had thought I would stop at the Fluid Stations when I was out, but after having been through them, I did not want to stop. I did not remember who was scheduled to be at 9 but I knew Michelle was somewhere before 15. I knew my Big Sister would be able to help me.

I handed Michelle the empty bottle and asked her to get it filled and back to me. The great thing about Michelle is that she can process things fast, get what is needed and then you can count on it being done.

I went to catch up with Danielle.

We tooled along (can one tool along on foot?) and suddenly there was this blaring, loud, deep yell that I recognized as my name! Danielle jumped, I mean jumped. It was Robin! I told her that was my other sister and she laughed and laughed. About a block from Robin, I saw Yvette and her eyes alone fed me energy.

At this point, I had no idea where we were. I had stopped looking at the mile markers and I had lost count in my head. I was happy about that, as counting at that point was not productive.

I was just getting out of the 'danger zone', otherwise known as the Fluid Station and there were Amy and Betti Lu. You have got to love the way they were dressed. Look at this:



Betti Lu made herself earrings - one said Be Bold, the other said Dig Deep! They both wore those alien ears all day long. Can anyone ask for more exuberance than these two woman provide? I think not!

The only reason I know how far I had run at this point is because of the Peeps Schedule that Amy compiled.

My Peeps

When Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer and it became impossible for her to train and complete the NYC Marathon with me, she still wanted to support me. Support me she did.

She not only lent me her home and yard for 2 yard sale to raise funds for the Run2Remember team, she asked many of her friends and clients to donate 'stuff' to the sale. She spent hours and hours cleaning and tagging the stuff.

She was with me for 3 of my long runs. Once in a golf cart with my dad and twice on a bike.

When I was paralyzed with upset and failure after my second injury, she asked me what other medical help I could get. That is what spurred me to find MAH and Heather is who steered me to Dr Gennaro. No doubt that without Amy, I would not have found them and without them, I would not have completed the marathon the way I did.

Then she asked what support I would like during the marathon. I told her that if I could have it my way(and in life, I rarely have it totally my way) I would want a friend at each mile from 8 on. I would want to have that to look forward to. I would like to be able to tell myself "Just one more mile and you will see (friend's name).

Amy put together a plan for me to have what I wanted. It was very much like the time and effort I put together to find the prefect 5 Phone a Friends when I was on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. My structure of support was in place and all I needed to do was keep moving.

The plan looked like this:

Mile 8 - Steve and Kevin

Mile 9 - Kyle, Michelle and Melissa

Mile 10 - Robin and Yvette

Mile 11 - Amy and Betti Lu

Mile 12 - Doreen and Alex

Mile 13 - Kyle, Michelle and Melissa

Mile 14 - Kevin and Steve

Mile 15 - Carrie

Mile 16 - Amy and Betti Lu

Mile 17 - Kevin and Steve

Mile 18 - Skoop, Donna and Kay

Mile 19 - Doreen and Alex

Mile 20 - Amy and Betti Lu

Mile 21 - Kyle, Michelle and Melissa

Mile 22 - Doreen and Alex

Mile 23 - Steve, Kevin, Michelle and Kyle

Mile 24 - Marc, Lois, Amy and Betti Lu

Mile 25 - Doreen and Alex

Mile 26 - Steve and Kevin

Doreen ran in the 2009 NYC Marathon and sent out an e-mail to all my peeps telling them what they might encounter, what I might be experiencing at various spots on the course and gave them this valuable advice: If things don't go as planned, roll with it. If you miss Lynn at some mile marker, move on - it will be fine.

That was great advice for all of us - including me.

Mile 13

And We Are Off!

The first mile or so on the bridge gave me something to think about rather than the 26.2 miles ahead. There was 'stuff' to avoid on the bridge that could have caused any of us to go down. There were sweatshirts, hats, gloves, plastic and at one point, a pair of sweatpants!

It was the three of us (me, Danielle and Addie) for at least the first half of the bridge. Then at some point, I turned to find Addie and she was not there. It was me and Danielle.

Once there was no more 'crap' to avoid, Danielle pointed out the beautiful skyline. I have never been so moved by seeing that. I was running in the freakin' NYC Marathon. Holy Crappola, Batman.

Getting off the bridge and into Brooklyn was uplifting. I could hear the bands and hear the crowds and that is where I finally understood what Pat meant. When I was so worried about my body and not being able to run, she promised me that the crowd would get me through. I got it as I started hearing "Lynnie! You are doing great."

The drunks in Brooklyn made me smile and smile. They were not shy about what was in their glasses and even offered some to us runners. The smells were awesome. At one point Danielle commented on it and added that it was too early to think about food.

The first thing Danielle taught me was how to manage the water stations. She just said "We need to move to the middle". I had read all of the coaching about not stopping at the first table, as they go one for a bit and don't cause a bottleneck and all. I had trained with my FuelBelt, so I had no plan to stop and get fluid until my 32 ounces was gone.

I was not prepared for:

How narrow the road became. The tables on both sides and the volunteers handing out cups made the width in which we could run more like half the width it was before the fluid station.

The cups on the ground. They are slippery and caused one foot to slip more often than I care to remember.

The criss crossing that runners did. I didn't understand that, as it seemed that both sides had water and Gatorade, so it seemed that people could stay on one side, but they didn't.

The stickiness - I mean really sticky, like running through tar that was not yet dry. I could feel that stickiness being flicked onto my ankle and calves. It grossed me out a bit.

I developed a strategy for fluid stations - Move to the middle, watch the ground and keep moving.

That strategy gave me confidence and it also prevented me from noticing the mile markers. The majority of the markers seemed to be at the fluid stations.

At some point, Danielle asked me if I had a time goal for my marathon. The first goal I had was to finish. I told her that if I could run a perfect race, and my injuries cooperated, I wanted to finish under 5 hours. She told me that was her goal as well.

In the corral, one of our team members (I think it was Jeff, but I am not sure) said something like this:

Okay, let's think of this as a 20 mile long run, with 6 miles tacked onto the end.

I said "This is an 8 mile run for me and then a 1 mile run to see someone I know."

More about that in my next post.

The Start

Liam and Addie and I happened to find more of the R2R team as we inched toward our corral. Not having trained with the team, many of them were only known to me through photos and the pasta dinner.

I knew Addie was starting injured, just like me, so I thought maybe she and I would run together. Danielle started talking to us and it seemed like me might be a trio.

As we walked toward the starting, I kept telling Addie and Danielle to watch the ground as we started. Many runners start the race wearing their warmer gear and just dump it on the bridge. If you don't pay attention, you can get your feet caught in the sweatshirts or garbage bags on the ground.

We stopped walking at some point and a man started talking to us on a loud speaker. Then some fellow started singing God Bless America and we all sang along. It was probably the best thing that could have happened for me. I was caught up in the song. I was not thinking about running for the next 5 hours.

Then, the cannon went off and people in front of me started moving and so did I.

Addie was just slightly behind me and Danielle was right next to me.

Waves and Corrals

It took me some time to get how the waves and corrals worked.

Here is how I simplified it.

There are 45,000 people running. They are divided into 3 waves so that only 15,000 start at a time. Each wave is divided into sections - the sections have colors - green, blue and orange. So, each section has 5,000 people.

The first wave of runners (wheeled people start earlier) started at 9:40, the second wave at 10:10 and my wave at 10:40. That gave 30 minutes for each group of 15,000 to move along the route so that we were spread out and the streets could manage the flow.

On the bridge, the 3 sections in each wave start at the same time. They do not start at the same place.

Green - they start on the bottom of the bridge. I think they use just one direction of the lower level of the bridge, leaving the other direction open for emergency vehicles. They go through streets that blue and orange do not go through for the first few miles.

Blue - they start on the right side of the bridge and stay on the right side of the street for the first 8 miles.

Orange - we start on the left side of the bridge and stay on the left side of the street until we all merge at mile 8.

The clock we see throughout the race is the time since wave 1 started, so wave 3 just had to subtract an hour to get their time, while wave 2 had to subtract 30 minutes.

The green people are the ones who can get peed on. It seems that some runners do not like to deal with the portajohn lines, so they wait for the race to start, scoot over to the side of the bridge, whip it out and pee over the side. If you are green and want to look up into the sky while running, you could get peed on. Some say you can see the various stream of urine of you look for it. Gross.

The Bus and Runner's Village

I totally relied on Amy to get me from the hotel to the bus. I can not tell you where my head was, but it wasn't spending any time figuring out which direction we needed to walk once we got up out of the subway. There were 2 buses around the Diesel store, which was the landmark we were told to look for.

I got on the bus and there were no familiar faces to me, but Amy asked the driver if it was the right bus and he confirmed it was The Alzheimer's bus.

The other team members chatted with each other and I did nothing to include myself. I still can't tell you where my head was. I didn't feel nervous and I just saying "It's today."

Coach Brian came on and checked names off and by 6:00AM, we were all there - how cool is that? No one was late.

Someone brought bananas and offered them to all of the runners. Amy made sure I had a bagel and a banana in my bag, so I was set. I was trying to figure out when I should eat them, based on my 10:40 start. I started nibbling on the bagel.

The bus took off. I had no clue what direction we were going nor did I recognize anything to say if we were close the the Verrazano or not. Then...... there is was. As we inched along, I could see the Runner's Village and I could see runners walking from their buses toward the village. It took a bit for our driver to get the okay to park and let us off.

This was it! We were at the village.

I got off and was still 'by myself'. Surprisingly, I did nothing to change that. I was watching myself be shy and not bold and knowing I was not being bold and knowing I was not doing anything about that. Then, my first angel of the day appeared. The last person to come on the bus turned to me and asked "Are you Lynn?" I said "I am." She said she was Pat. I did not recognize her with a hat on. I had seen her photo once, I think. Pat is one of the few team members who also had a blog. I followed her training journey and I know she followed mine, as she commented a few times.

I then had a buddy to be with in the village. Hooray!

A few other team members joined Pat and me and we found a place to sit. I followed the advice and brought a black garbage bag to sit on. Our group moved a few times, trying to find a place that was not so windy and cold. We eventually found a larger group of R2R people.

I was prepared for the cold. I relied on Kevin in planning my "before we start the marathon' clothing. I had my running gear on and added sweatpants, a sweatshirt, a micro fleece ear cover, gloves and a winter jacket. The deal is that you get to leave your outer clothing in you starting corral and it all gets donated to the homeless. If you want to keep some of your clothing, you put it in your UPS bag and turn it in before 9:30, when the UPS trucks close.

I decided that I didn't need 3 winter jackets, especially since I leave for Florida in mid November and return in April. I decided to give away the jacket that Alex told me makes me look like the Michelin man.

It was so windy, it was cold and it was damp. Eventually a group of us decided to head over to the food and beverage place in the village. They gave away Poland Spring water bottles (the 8 oz ones), bagels, PowerBars and coffee. I took another bagel, 4 bottles of water and 4 PowerBars. I don't know what I thought I was going to do with the PowerBars, as I had 4 already cut up on the FuelBelt.

By then, I was introduced to Liam, a team member who was very cool. He had dyed his hair purple, what with that being the R2R color. We were both in the 3rd wave and orange. Pat was in the 3rd wave, but not orange.

Liam and I then decided it was time to get rid of our UPS bags and start heading to the orange corral. We had to get our bags to the truck before 9:30 and pee one last time and be at our corral at 10:20.

The lines to the portajohns were beyond long. I saw some advice somewhere that said to get on line for the portajohn and then after peeing, get on line again. That is not bad advice.

Liam led me in the right direction and we found the correct UPS truck - they are based on your bib number, I gave them the stuff that I wanted at the end of the race and was one step closer to starting my marathon.

Then, we ran into Addie. Addie and I had e-mailed back and forth just before the marathon because we were in the same wave and we were both orange. We had similar concerns, as we were both starting the race injured.

Then we ran into more R2R peeps, I applied my Body Glide for the last time. I had chafed in a few areas during my long runs and smeared the stuff on to prevent chafing during the marathon. I shared it with my team members and then dumped it.

Our corral opened. I stripped off my outer gear and left it for the homeless. I kept my gloves on.

At about 10:30, we started inching to the starting line on the bridge.

Sleeping and Then Not

Thank goodness we get to push the clocks back and hour the night before the marathon.

We got back to the hotel by 8:00 and I was in bed by 8:30. We set 3 alarms, as I needed to be in Union Square to catch the bus by 6:00AM.

I went to sleep.

I awoke at 1:00 and had to pee.

Before I have the covers off me, I hear Amy's voice coming from the floor. "Don't step on me." I say okay and I step over her and head to the bathroom.

I get back into bed and the party noises from outside sound like they are in our room. I slept for about 30 minutes at a stretch waking up to various 'conversations' that were a demonstration of alcohol induced testosterone rage. It got ugly and loud.

I finally just got up and turned off the alarms at 4:15AM. Amy got off the floor soon there after.

Amy, Amy, Amy - we decided that she was my maid of honor. She just took care of me. I mean took care. She made sure I had a bagel and a banana. She made sure I had water and coffee. She made sure I got from the hotel to bus on time. Not only did she make sure, she lead me the entire way. This is a woman who is rarely out of bed by 8:00AM and she did all of this for me. I adore her. She is the best support a girl could have. You want her as your friend.

Amy got me to the bus by 5:40, I hugged her goodbye and got on the bus.

The Pasta Dinner

Carbo loading and more carbo loading. It is the name of the game as one approaches the marathon.

Most teams have a pasta dinner the night before the marathon. The R2R team's was at Carmine's in Time Square. It was scheduled from 5:00PM to 7:00PM, a perfect time to support us in getting a good night's rest.

Amy and I got there at 4:59. Our room was upstairs and the employees were proactive in getting us where we needed to go.

We were greeted by a table with sticky name tags and I think there were balloons, but to be perfectly honest, I was just so preoccupied with being uncomfortable. I tried and tried and could not shake that feeling called "I am going to a party where everyone knows everyone except me."

I had done some Facebook spying to see what people looked like. I immediately saw Erica. Let me say some stuff about Erica.

Way back last winter, I started my quest to get a bib in this year's marathon. I googled and discovered that the Alzheimer's Association had a team last year. I found the application for the 2009 team and wrote an e-mail and called the number. I was a woman on a mission to get a bib.

Not long after, I got a call from Erica. She was not the person I called but had the job of the person I called for the 2010 team. Applications were not open yet and she explained the procedure to me and I knew we would all be taken care of. Erica has a way of making everything okay and giving me certainty. You want to hire Erica, seriously.

I introduced myself to Erica, who clearly had her hands full and still took time to greet me and make sure she met Amy and made me feel known. I relaxed a bit.

Then came the "find a table to sit at" Ugh, again, I know no one except Amy and these tables are so long, what to do, what to do. I just pick a place and we sit. We left chairs on both sides of us.

Thank goodness there is bread on the table, so I can have something to do rather than sitting there hoping someone would sit by us. Soon, someone did...... then..... they left for a better table! Ha!

Then Danielle came with her brothers and her boyfriend. We talked a bit and then Paul sat down and someone else and there was just free flowing conversation and it was great.

David Hyde Pierce was there, in between his Saturday performances in La Bete. He thanked us all and the guy had a way of speaking to the entire group and I was left feeling like he thanked me personally for the money I raised to be used for a cause near and dear to his heart.

The salads came, the pasta came, the dessert came. There were bottles of wine on the table..... wtf? then, I realized that many of us runners had friends and family with us and they were drinking it.

Erin (the president of the Junior Committee) told us that during the time we were training for the marathon, Alzheimer's went for the 7th cause of death in the US to the 6th cause of death. It surpassed diabetes. Holy Crap!

Thank you gifts to our coach Brian and our head mentor Meghann were given out. A very cute presentation was given by two team members that the people around me lovingly referred to as Frick and Frack. The best line was "Coach B would tell us we were okay when were not okay."

Then.... I got a gift. I was/am the 3rd top fundraiser and got a beautiful silver bracelet engraved with the motto "a reason to hope".

Dessert came and we ate it and then the party was over and headed back to the hotel to get some sleep.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Today is my mom's 77th birthday.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

Getting to NY and The Expo

I got on the 10:28 train on Saturday morning. Amy got on in Peekskill and we were on our way to The Big Apple!

Our hotel was on 31st between Park and Lexington. Can I just say how outraged I was and still am at the cost of a hotel room?!? $500 for 2 nights! You gotta be kidding me!

We walked over to the hotel and I was trying to not have my quad under a microscope, it was in the condition it was in and there was nothing I could do, other than fret and that is totally not productive. The walk did me good -relaxing me and all.

We dropped our luggage and strolled over to the expo.

It was great that I was at the expo last year with Doreen. I knew what to expect and what I needed to handle.

I gave Amy to list of things I needed to do at the expo, so that she would make sure there were no brain farts. The list was:

- get my bib

- get my UPS bag

- get 2 large pockets for my fuel belt

- get my official t-shirt

- buy my photo package

I had originally planned to go down to NYC on Thursday to go to the Expo. I wanted to avoid the 'zoo' of the Expo on Saturday. I had wanted to go into NYC the day before the marathon with nothing to do but the pasta dinner and then the marathon.

Then, the weather forecast turned to crap. I had a choice - NYC in the cold rain or a zoo. Hmmmmmmm........ cold rain vs Zoo. Zoo won.

Getting my bib and all was so easy. I forgot that the UPS bag was the bag you get your bib in. The advantage of going to the Expo on Thursday is that they do not run out of smaller sizes of the official t-shirts on Thursday. They have run out by Saturday. I now have a 2010 NYC Marathon official night shirt. Whatever.

Then we head over to Brightroom - the official photographer for the NYC Marathon. Last year, Doreen and I spent time figuring out what package she wanted, what plaque she liked and so on. She liked the shadowbox version from some 'non-official' photo people. I knew I preferred the one that came with The Manhattan Package.

I happened to be able to talk to the same woman who helped Doreen last year. I was standing there with Amy, looking at the plaques, knowing which one I preferred and not pulling the trigger. I asked what the advantage was of buying the package now. The answer came down to, I would save $20 on shipping.

I still am not pulling the trigger. Amy is obviously confused about why I am not choosing. So, I tell the truth. I point to the part of the plaque that says "Your Finish Time". That is what I am worried about. Will it be a time I will want on display? Will it be a time I would rather not call attention to and just be proud that I finished the damn thing.

At first, Amy wants to tell me I shouldn't feel that way, which, frankly never makes a difference for me. She was awesome because when I asked her to please not do that and to just get my concern. She did - it was really great - she just understood and heard me. I could let that go. I LOVED it.

Then, I asked the helpful woman - What if I don't finish - will I be out the $400. She said no. If I don't finish, they e-mail me and ask if I still want the photos. They can not give me the plaque because they can not give me a medal if I don't finish.

That did it for me - I bought it.

Then I got to do the intro to my DVD that comes with the package. I can't remember what I said, I just know it was straight from my heart and Amy said people watching were moved by it.

The we found the FuelBelt people and I got my larger pockets.

I was done by then and we walked back to the hotel.

Next stop - the team's pasta dinner at Carmines.

Deciding What to Wear

I went back and forth trying to decide what I was going to wear for the marathon. This wasn't my usual, "What am I going to wear?" This wasn't about looking cute or accentuating my waist and hiding my hips and ass. Thia was about how am I going to stay cool and not be too cold.

Kevin is always my go to guy when it comes to weather. He was telling me to wear the short sleeves under my singlet. I was really worried about the wind and the temperatures being too cool.

The difficult part was that due to my injuries in the last month, I never really did a long run in coolish weather. My last long run was October 3rd. It was 48 degrees and early in the day. I wore long sleeves that day. I knew I could roll up those sleeves and they would stay up. I knew the tech shirt would breathe well and I pulled the trigger. It would be the long sleeves. I would also wear my Halo sweatband under my awesome R2R cap.

I DID IT!

Yes, I finished.

I can sorta walk today.

I had a fairy godchild most of the way. Without Danielle running next to me for all but the last 3 or so miles, my finishing time would have been way different.

Looks like my finishing time is 4:55:44. I am not sure if that is offical or not and it is close enough.

Under 5 hours, Baby!

I have so much to say and so much to reflect upon and so many people to be grateful for and to.

Let's just ends today's post with:

I am in awe of me.

Okie Dokie

One more night night.

I leave for The Big Apple in about 3 hours.

Amy and I will check in to our hotel, head over to the Expo, then back to the hotel and then to the Team's Pasta Dinner, then back to the hotel to sleep.

I am using what served me well before I got into the hot seat on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. Here it is translated for a physical challenge, rather than a mental one:

- My body has been trained the way it was trained. There is nothing I can do now to train it more.

- I am not alone. I have lifelines from mile 8 on. My peeps will feed me energy and love.

- My body is and will be impacted by my mind. It is wasteful to spend anytime on what I shoulda/coulda done.

- It is what it is - there will be discomfort and maybe even pain.

I read this on another runner's blog:

You can throw in the towel or you can use it to wipe the sweat off you face.

I am a sweat wiper!

That would be a great thing for my peeps to tell me:

LYNNIE! YOU ARE A SWEAT WIPER!

I'll post on Monday when I get back home and let you know how it went!

Who Wants To Be a Marathoner?

I do!

I discovered this morning, that not only will Al Roker be running this marathon with me, but his running buddy will be Meredith Viera.

No biggie to most people but a big ass biggie to me.

You see, back in December of 2002, I had the big ass privilege of sitting across from Meredith as I got to play Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.




She is an amazing woman, with the most calming and loving disposition. I was in the hot seat long enough to go through 2 commercial breaks. During one of those breaks, she called me Lynnie. The only people who have consistently called me Lynnie are my dad and Carrie. When Meredith called me that, right out of the blue, I felt like a warm hug just enveloped me and all would be just fine.

That is the reason my singlet has the name LYNNIE on it.

How cool would it be if I got to run along side Al and Meredith and she got to call me Lynnie again?

3 More Night Nights

That is what Carrie said when she was little and was looking forward to some event. Only 3 more night nights!

The Run2Remember Team has surpassed the Quarter Million Dollar Mark!!!!! Can you believe that? I am so proud of us.

My peeps are having a conference call tonight to plan their strategy of support for me. To steal a phrase from Oprah, one thing I know for sure is that my body by itself will not get me to the finish line. It will require my body and my spirit. My spirit will be lifted by my peeps and the peeps I have never met.

I will be sending these photos of me in my marathon running gear to all my peeps so they know how I will look. They are not flattering, not even close, but I won't look cute during the race, so wtf?

This is if I keep the cap on:





This is if it gets too hot and I give away my cap to the first peep I see:

My Last Training Run

Is done! A week ago, I doubted I would/could be back running.

I can really see myself finishing this marathon.

I can see myself having fun, taking in the crowds and the neighborhood parties.,

I can see myself letting in all of the support of my outrageous peeps and the peeps I don't even know.

I can see myself gaining something brand new from finishing the race.

I can see myself finding a whole new way to be bold and dig deep.

I can see myself crossing the finish line.

This is so cool.

My teammates and I have raised over $225,000 so far. I can see us breaking the quarter of a million dollar mark. I can dream of us breaking the $300,000 mark.

Families I don't know will be impacted by the work we have all done. I am proud.

Chilean Miner

Edison Pena is running the marathon with me. Gotta give the guy props, being under ground, in air that had to be well....... not great and not really 'knowing' he would ever see the light of day again and he still had the motivation to do his cardio. Hope I get to see him.

Wonder if Al Roker will be in my wave and corral. I read that he can't seem to break the 13 minute mile, so I imagine he will be in my wave.

Bobby Flay - wonder who he chose to throw down with for this one.

We got Jared, a Bachelor, an Amazing Race winner, and other people I frankly, don't know.

I would love, love, love to run (walk fast) with Al for a bit.

Kyle is injured so he will not be running 9 miles with me. I am more interested in him taking care of his body so that he can run in his half-marathon next month.

Amy has been coordinating all of my peeps and it is starting to look like I will have a familiar face and voice at most every mile after mile 8.

I am a lucky girl.

You Sound Like You Are Hosting a Party

That is what Amy said to me just a short while ago.

That translates into:

- You are worried things will go wrong.

- You think you can figure everything out and it will be okay.

- You have a list a mile long and just want to cross things off and when the list is all crossed off, you think you will calm down, but you never will because you will always be adding to the list.

I am the opposite of calm.

I want all of my peeps to have a great time while they cheer their heads off.

I am also flying high that I am actually running again!

10 Day Forecast

I am obsessed with the 10 day forecast.

Right now, the 10 day forecast for marathon day is:

Sunny (yippee - I get to wear my purple R2R cap with my purple Halo sweatband underneath)

High of 57 (Short sleeve under my purple singlet)

Low of 41 (a bit chilly at 6:00AM but I can layer and give my outer clothes to charity)

0% chance of rain (I am still totally in love with myself that I ran in the rain in order to be prepared)

13 mph winds (I have no idea what that means but I am sure someone will tell me)

I am excited. I am making lists. My peeps are all planning where they will be on the course and I feel so loved and honored and special.

We all rock!

I am A Happy Girl

When I told Dr Gennaro that I could do 60 minutes on the elliptical with not even a whisper from my quad, all of his concerns about what could be going on with my body disappeared. He had thought I was going to have to go for an MRI or something. He saw no reason for that given I could do the elliptical.

So, the plan was to warm up on the elliptical for 40 minutes, then hit the road.

I did just that today.

I am running again!

I am running and loving it.

My quad whispered to me a bit, a little louder on down hills than any other time, and I AM RUNNING!

I covered about 4 1/2 miles. Dr G wanted me to go just 20 minutes and I didn't stop at that point. I felt so good. I felt like I could go on forever. I took it slow, about a 10'20" mile pace. The hills that used to kick my ass were nothing.

I came home and iced my quad, not because I needed to, but because I was told to.

I am feeling good and I am a happy girl.

I will do just the elliptical tomorrow - for 1 1/2 hours. I will run 3 miles on Monday and Wednesday, walk 3 miles on Friday and then run 26.2 on Sunday.

I am so excited!

We Surpassed $210,000

How awesome is that?

I had been struggling with being injured and confronting not being able to run.

Then I remembered what this really is all about for me. It is about running the marathon to raise money for finding a cure for Alzheimer's and raising awareness so that people get treatment and assistance early on in the progression of the disease.

I am not giving up on the possibility of running. I will continue to get treatment for whatever is causing the problem with my quad. I will be at the starting line and I will start running. If I can't run, I will "power walk" the whole darn thing.

My team mates are kicking major butt in their fundraising. I can see us raising $250,000.

Taking Me Some Time

After not being able to jog (not even run) for even 30 seconds, I was defeated. I hate to admit that and it is true. I cried and I hated that too. It took me some time to come up with an action plan that I saw some possibility in.

I tried the elliptical. I had used it to keep my cardio up during my first 'injury'. I had used it before Dr Genarro suggested that I stop and only do the QWR. I completed 60 minutes with ZERO noise coming from my quad - I mean ZERO. Dr G had suggested that maybe my body had just lost it's muscle memory of how all that stuff has to work together. I don't understand any of that and I know how my body feels. It feel strong and able and my job is to figure out what it can do and not do.

I couldn't do the forward lunge or the sideways lunge. I can walk to beat the band and totally kick ass on the elliptical. That has to tell the professionals something about what is going on in my body.

I saw MAH yesterday. There are so many wonderful things about her, her knowledge, her ability and her routine. She always talks with me first about how my body is feeling. I gave her all of the info I had. Then I got undressed and on her table.

She was gone longer than 'normal'. When she came in, she told me she was able to speak with Dr G. How cool is that?

The point on my thigh that is the current 'problem' has moved. This has been happening from the beginning. It started on the right center, moved all the way over to the IT band and is now way over to more like the adductor. Yesterday, she really worked the adductor.

I was able to do the forward lunge after her work. She told me that Dr G thinks I might have a femoral artery issue and when I see him on Friday he will do some tests to see if that is so. I have no idea what that means or if it can be 'fixed' if it is so.

I will be doing the elliptical again today. I do not plan on trying to run. I am thinking about not doing any running or jogging before the starting line, but..... that will probably not end up being the case. I am just too darn curious.

I am almost back to my positive, powerful self.

almost

Well..... That Was Ungood

I saw Dr Gennaro and got the reluctant okay to jog (not run) 3 miles. He was really reluctant and I was really interested in doing it and a bit scared to not and a bit scared to do it.

So, he gave me all this stuff to do prior - heat and various dynamic stretches.

I was excited.

I did the heat and then took the short car ride over to the school. I did the high knee stretch, I did the 'kick your butt' stretch, then I started the forward lunge stretch.

VERY, VERY UNGOOD. My quad screamed and yelled and protested and hated me.

I then tried the side step, drag stretch and it didn't like that either.

Then I started a slow jog. Nope, ain't gonna happen without ruining all of the gains I have made to date.

I see Heather tomorrow, I will DWR tomorrow, I will see heather and Dr G on Friday.

I am disappointed and worried. I am not defeated, so I do not need cheering up or anything. I will be in the marathon and I will finish it.

Bounding Up The Stairs!

Woo Hoo!

Since my quad has been an issue, stairs have been a problem. The problem has gone from having to go up stairs one step at a time, to wincing on each step, to knowing I have a quad on each step, to being reminded I had a quad and then today I bounded up the stairs.

Heather did some really great work on my quad today and even got me into a stretch that I would not let Dr Gennaro do on me, as I thought my leg might just break.

I really, really want to run my 3 miles tomorrow - hoping he gives me the okay.

Then 5, then 3 then 8!

Football Is Stoopid

I am just waiting for Denver to be put out of it's misery and I am officially out of the pool.

The Suicide Pool, that is.

Two picks - gone in one Sunday.

I will be back in the chlorine pool tomorrow. The DWR is kinda fun.

Are You Still In The Pool?

That is a question my dad asked me when I spoke to him this evening. It went something like this:

M - I am! I still have 2 picks.

D - 2 what?

M - 2 picks.

D - What?

M - 2 lives. It is a suicide pool, so that when the team you pick loses, you die - like you killed yourself. I have 2 lives left.

D - I didn't mean that pool - I meant are you still running in the pool.

Ha!

So, I am still DWR. I did 1 hour and 35 minutes today. That is pretty much the time I would be running the 9 miles that is on my schedule.

I am hoping I can run again by midweek. I will continue to use the pool and DWR until I am cleared to run.

How Alzheimer's Affects Us

One of the things that has come out of me doing this marathon (in order to raise money for Alzheimer's research and education) is the drastic increase in the number of people I have told that my mom suffers from this disease. I have also been able to be comfortable in sharing how that affects us, without having people want to run away. I think that is because I am not sharing so that they feel sorry for me, or because I feel sorry for myself. I am sharing to shine a light on what it is really like.

My mom woke up in the middle of the night and told my dad that they should pay those people some money. He asked what people and she said the people that are letting them stay there. She had no idea this was there home.

At least twice a week, my mom wants to know where 'the little one' went. We are usually in their living room or their car when she asks. She is terribly panicked when she asks. There has been no little one in their home or in their car in 10 years.

We went shopping to buy her new shorts and my dad some as well. We went into the dressing room three times to find the right style and fit for her and ended up with 3 pair. Then we went to the men's department to find some for my dad. He was not with us. She asked me 5 times why we were in the men's department. Each time, I told her to get shorts for daddy. Each time she followed that up with "Where is he?" while looking around the department. We found him shorts and headed off to the check-out. As we were standing on line, she lamented "How come I go on all of these shopping trips and never find anything for me?"

After getting the above mentioned shorts home, she has not worn them and continues to have no idea she has them, even after having them shown to her in her closet.

Each evening, I tell my mom what is going on with my training. She is surprised that I am running a marathon and always asks what I am raising money for.

Her latest 'go to' phrases (meaning ones she says often):

"See that, your mother is no longer worthless."

"That is stupid."

"I feel blah."

"Those people are stupid."

"What day is today?"

"No one told me."

"Why?"

"How come no one told me?"

"I don't remember."

Lagrange Postmistress

My angel Heather's practice is close to the Lagrange post office. I had some things to mail so I stopped there on the way to see Heather yesterday. My local, local (as opposed to the Millbrook post office) has become a victim of cut backs and is closed from 1:00 - 2:30 each day. I used to live in Lagrange, but this is the second time I have been in the post office.

I had a box that was going to Kevin in Florida and an envelope containing a donation from Alice (she is the woman who us kids hired to be with my mom 4 hours a week) to go to The Alzheimer's Association for the R2R fund. The Postmistress was so sweet and educated me on all the things I need to know about packages. This is a woman who knows and loves her job. I paid for the package and she noticed the envelope in my hand. It already had a stamp on it.

PM - Would you like me to take that for you and postmark it for today?

Me - Sure

I slide it across the counter.

PM - Alzheimer's ! I was just talking about that (she had a conversation with the woman before me where the disease was mentioned)

Me - I am running in the NYC marathon, raising money for Alzheimer's research and education, my mom suffers from the disease. I have already raised over $13,000.

PM - Do you need more money?

This is another place I have grown. I did not answer the question she asked (there is the growth), The fact of the matter is, I do not need more money. I committed to raise $3,000, although I promised $10,000 and then raised that to $12,000, so no matter how you look at it, I did not need more money. Rather than knee jerk answer her questions, I paused and thought.

Me - That would be great

PM - This is a disease they should be able to cure. It will happen.

She reached into her pocket and had a few dollars.

PM - This is not enough, I am going to buy some stamps and get some cash to give you.

She did just that, she used her debit card to get cash and gave me a donation.

I cried. Literally. I babbled about being moved and touched by her generosity. She was so cool - she looked me right in the eyes (most people look away when I cry) and reached for my hand

PM - You are welcome.

How cool is that?

Shifting and Letting Go

There is so much I have seen and changed about me during the last 6 months. I will look back at this time and know it has had me become a different person.

I know me well enough to know that I will be distinguishing and sharing all of the things I have shifted and all of the things that were important to me and are no longer important. There are also things that were not important that are now important.

This post is the beginning of that exploration and sharing.

1. My roots(we are talking hair roots) are longer than they ever have been - I mean EVER. I do have an appointment on Thursday to have my hair cut and colored. The thought of pushing that appointment yet another time no longer fills me with dread and panic. My interest in my presentation has moved so far down my priority list that I may not know who the list belongs to.

2. I am letting my dad make his own choices. He doesn't HAVE TO anything. I can and will continue to bring what I bring to the party without the white knuckleness of control. It is his life. It is not mine. My offers are offers. My gifts are gifts. My contribution is that, a contribution of my choosing and if he doesn't accept it, he owes me nothing. I am under no obligation to contribute and if I do, that is my choice and if I don't, I am not a bad daughter. Nor am I a good daughter if I do. I am his daughter and I love him.

3. I have come leaps and bounds in accepting my body as it is. I have short chubby legs. I have thighs that jiggle. I have varicose veins and bat wings. I have cellulite and chin hair. My body is so amazing - it has supported me and let me use it to run an ungodly number of miles and has allowed me to take on something that has raised over $13,000 for a cause that is very close to my heart and the hearts of the people I love.

4. I miss my mom. I mean I really, really miss my mom. It's okay for me to tell you that and it's okay for me to cry. It's okay for me to miss my mom even though her body is still alive. My mom would make sure her body was at the marathon, cheering for me in a way that would embarrass most people. The person in my mom's body now will not be there. I really miss my mom.

Unrelated Shares

1. Team R2R has raised over $180,000 as of this morning! Woo Hoo!!

2. My sister Michelle let me know that my dad has agreed to go back to the neurologist in Jacksonville. She is thinking it will be over Thanksgiving.

3. I have watched a few episodes of Sister Wives - shut up - I have found it surprisingly transformational and loving. I am shocked that I am not repulsed.

4. I bought a combination lock for the JCC locker room. Master Lock makes colored locks now. I chose a purple one - for The Alzheimer's Association color.

5. Kyle is thinking about jumping into the marathon at mile 2 or 3. If there is anyone who is reading this who has an experience of the number of runners at that point, how viable that is - will he even be able to spot me in the crowd - will he be able to jump in - will be get in a runner's way or get trampled? Please post something if you have experience.

6. Kevin's mom is back in the hospital. She has a tumor on her lung that is causing fluid to build up in her lungs and causing her heart to go into A-Fib. He did get her to have a lung biopsy.

7. Talking to my mom each evening is a tricky thing. Asking her about her day is worthless, as she has no memory of her day, so I try to have news on my end to share with her. She has met Kevin's mom a few times so I shared the news with her a few nights ago. Every night since then, it has been new news to her. I have now learned to tell it like new news, rather than a continuation of a story.

8. My dad is walking again. I am hoping he can increase his stamina so golfing is not so taxing.

9. Small world share - My angel Heather knows my friend Yvette.

10. So far, I have 19 peeps converging on NYC, from Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia and various cities in New York. I am a lucky girl.

Deep Water Running

Dr Gennaro said I could run in deep water. He said I should do the same training schedule I had for running on the ground and that I should cut the time I would be on the road in half, as it was going to be more body involved than running. He also said that if I planned on doing say, 45 minutes in the water, I should expect to spend more time in the pool. as I might DWR (Deep Water Run) for 5 minutes and then have to rest and so on.

So, I was all prepared for it to be a beyotch. I was just thrilled to be back doing something.

Once I got all of the paper work done at the JCC, got my tour changed and all, I got in the pool at 10:40.

- It takes for freakin' ever to move through the water while DWR. The pool is only 20 yards long and I started at the 4 1/2 foot depth, so I probably DWR 15ish yards and it took a full minute.

- When I run, I sometimes count my right foot steps - shut up - I do 80 right foots per 1/10 of a mile (usually 1 minute of running). I counted my right foot steps while DWR and it matched almost exactly to my running pace.

- I was sure I was not doing this right, as I was not exhausted and did not need to rest.

- I DWR for 1 hour and 20 minutes

- I feel sooooooooo good about having done something, anything to get my body moving.

- I am on the mend and feeling powerful

- When I told Dr G that I did not need to rest and wondered if I was doing something wrong, he said, you can't screw it up and I must have good conditioning. He did wonder if I would feel the effects over the next 72 hours.

- I see him on Friday and hope, hope, hope that I can do a slow run over the weekend.

hope

hope

hope

I'm All Set

for my deep water running.

I got me a belt.

I got me a swimming suit.

I got me a swimming cap.

The open lanes at the JCC pool start at 10:00AM tomorrow.

I am thinking there will be a learning curve with this belt and the jogging in water up to my shoulders and all. Dr Gennaro says I will be wiped out and to not expect to do even half the time running in the pool as I do on land.

Let the incompetence begin!

I Have A Sorta Timeline

and a real promise.

The timeline right now is no running this coming week. I can not participate in the 10K on the 24th in Lenox.

Dr Gennaro promises me he will get me to the starting line, ready to race. He also told me that my confidence to finish will be the thing. I will finish.

I will start with the Deep Water Running on Monday. I found a belt at Dick's and the JCC has a 3 month membership that I will pay for.

Totally not doctor or Heather related:

There should to be a law that unless you have trained for 6 months to do something extraordinary with your body, you do not get to give advice, you only get to give encouragement and acknowledgement.

As I Was Waking Up This Morning

I was having a dream as I woke up this morning.

I was reading my e-mails. I got an e-mail from Jake (I know no one named Jake, except that Bachelor idiot). Jake typed something like this:

I read your bio. Your goal is to train injury free. You have failed. You should quit. Some one with intelligence would know that it is stupid, not stoopid.

Jake (a nurse)


I am paused by this. I am not thinking of quitting. I am just trying to figure out what my mind is trying to figure out.

I also found a place on the internet where I can by an AquaJogger. I will see what result Dr Gennaro has produced and if he failed in getting me a lead on one, I'll just go ahead and order one and get it here fast. I do need to confirm I can use it at the Jewish Community Center.

I am on the case!

No Timeline Yet

I still do not have the okay to run. I could be running in a pool. I can get into the Jewish Community Center pool and I would need to get/find a flotation belt. The doctor is calling a buddy of his who might be able to get me one. I am sensing this is not going to work out. I am very willing to be surprised.

I am surprising okay. I often ask myself if this is my 'first marathon stoopidity' and I don't care. I think that running/finishing a marathon is so much about attitude, that I am keeping this attitude, even if it is a stoopid one.

I am really getting excited. I have been talking to people about coming to the marathon. I think we are up to 19 people who are coming. Kyle is thinking about doing his training run with me. He has 9 miles to do that weekend, so he just might keep me company for that long! Melissa might join me at some point as well. How cool is that?

My job is to get healthy.

I am good at getting jobs done.

Bib # 53479

That's Me!

Orange Wave # 3
10:40AM start time

Corral # 53

No, I am not in the cattle family.

This is really gonna happen.

I am still excited. I am in good spirits.

I am certain that if my ankle heals, I will be at the starting line, ready and able to complete 26.2 miles and I will complete them.

I have appointments with Heather and Dr Gennaro this afternoon. I will see my running future more clearly tonight.

With a guy like this, how can I fail?

Dr. Gennaro is a Doctor of Chiropractic and a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy. Dr. Gennaro graduated Magna Cum Laude from New York Chiropractic College. He is interested in sports injuries and is experienced in conditions of the neck, back and extremities. He combines manual manipulation, soft tissue techniques, stretching, nutrition and exercise to help speed healing and restore function. He is certified in Manipulation Under Anesthesia.


Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION: 1994 Doctor of Chiropractic, Magna Cum Laude
New York Chiropractic College, Seneca Falls, NY

1988 Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course
Ft. Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma

1984 Field Artillery Officer Basic Course
Ft. Sill, Lawton, Oklahoma

1984 Bachelor of Science
United States Military Academy, West Point, NY

CHIROPRACTIC LICENSURE: 1995 State of New York

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:
1995- Pres Private Practice, Poughkeepsie, NY
• Team Doctor Arlington High School Sports
• Team Doctor, 1996, 1998 International Federation of Body Builders Mr., Ms., Master’s, and Ms. Fitness Olympia Competitions; & 1999-2002 Night of Champions
• Chairman, Committee on Exercise & Fitness, International Chiropractors Association (ICA) Council on Fitness & Sports Health Science
• Contributing Author, Chiropractic Sports Health Science

1992-1994 Residence Hall Director, NY Chiropractic College

1990-1991 Asst. Project Engineer, KM Construction, NYC

1986-1988 Master Fitness Trainer, A Btry, 6/27th FA, U.S. Army

1984-1989 Officer, U.S. Army - Details Upon Request

TEACHING EXPERIENCE:
2003-Pres Athletic Trainer Externship Program, Marist College
2002 Adjunct Professor of Biology, Marist College
1997-2000 Adjunct Professor of Biology, Marist College
1997 Conducted Scientific Stretch Sports Performance Seminar Series, Levittown Health Center, NY Chiropractic College (NYCC)
1994 Director Assistant, Levittown Health Center, NYCC (Responsible for teaching patient procedures and clinic protocols)
1993-1994 Teaching Assistant, NYCC
• X-Ray Positioning
• Patient Assessment
• Ancillary Therapy
• Lumbopelvic Adjusting Procedures
1993-1995 Instructor, Atlas Management Chiropractic
National Board Review
• Pathophysiology
• Radiology
• Orthopedics
• General Diagnosis
• Anatomy
1989 Instructor, Central Texas College, Camp Page,
Korea
• Business Systems Management
• Personal Counseling
• Stress Management

PUBLISHED WORKS:
2003 Gennaro, R.F. “Anti-Aging and the Musculoskeletal
System: Functional Analysis and Spinal Stabilization Exercise.” Anti-Aging Medical Therapeutics 5 (2003): 427-436.

2002 Gennaro, R.F., McNergney, E. “The Importance of
Teaching Stabilization.” ICA Review. (Winter 2002);
51-54.

1999 Chiropractic Sports Health Science. Stretching
Safely for Optimal Health. Ed. Gennaro R.F., Vahl,
R.J. and Van Egmond C. Arlington VA: ICA Council on Fitness
and Sports Health Science, 1999.


LECTURES:

2009 Gennaro R.F. Maximizing Your Workout: What You Don’t Know May Hurt You ~ Supplements, Sports Drinks & Recovery. Gold’s Gym Performance Series, Poughkeepsie, NY.

2008 Barnathan J, Gennaro R.F. Patient Exercise,
Enhanced Recovery and Injury Prevention. Presented at the ICA International Symposium on Natural Fitness, Columbus, OH, Feb 2008

2006 Gennaro, R.F. Differential Diagnosis of Low Back
Pain in Athletes. Presented at the NYS Athletic Trainers Annual Meeting & Conference, West Point, NY, June 2006

2006 Gennaro, R.F. Functional Evaluation and Lumbar
Stabilization Exercise. Presented to Marist College Athletic Training Students, Marist College, NY, May 2006

2006 Barnathan J, Gennaro R.F. Personal Trainer
Participation in the Chiropractic Practice: Strategies for Maximal Effectiveness. Presented at the ICA International Symposium on Natural Fitness, Columbus, OH, March 2006

2006 Gennaro, R.F. Introduction to Plyometrics. Presented at Gold’s Gym Coaches Series, Poughkeepsie, NY

2005 Gennaro, R.F. Lumbar Spinal Stabilization Exercise: Functional Analysis and Restoration of Function. Presented at the Empire State Games/NYS Athletic Trainers Association Sports Medicine Symposium, Marist College, NY, July 2005

2005 Gennaro, R.F. Stretching your Productivity: A Program to Promote Wellness and Reduction of Debilitating Injury. Presented to the Gap Inc. Distribution Center Management Team, Fishkill, NY, June 2005

2004 Gennaro, R.F. Injury Prevention Through Work Place Stretching Program. Presented to the Gap Inc. Distribution Center Management Team, Fishkill, NY, Nov 2004

2004 Gennaro R.F. Sports Nutrition for Long Distance
Runners. Presented to Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club, Wappingers Falls, NY

2004 Gennaro, R.F. Peak Performance. Presented to
Arlington High School Student Athletes, LaGrange, NY

2003 Gennaro, R.F. Principles of Conditioning. Presented to the Arlington High School Athletic Coaches, LaGrange, NY

2003 Gennaro, R.F. Sports Nutrition. Presented to Arlington High School Student Athletes, LaGrange, NY

2002 Gennaro, R.F. Anti-Aging and the Musculoskeletal System: Functional Analysis and Spinal Stabilization Exercise. Presented at the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine Conference, Chicago, Ill, May 2002

2002 Gennaro R.F., Paglia, D. The Spine in Motion: Care
Strategies for Prevention and Correction. Presented at the ICA International Symposium on Natural Fitness, Columbus, OH, March 2002

2001 Gennaro, R.F. Evaluation of Lumbar Spine Pain.
Presented to the Hudson Valley Athletic Trainer’s Society, Marist College, NY

2000 Gennaro, R.F. Pediatric Sports Injuries. Presented to
LaGrange Baseball League Coaches, LaGrange, NY

2000 Gennaro, R.F. Flexibility and the Subluxation
Complex. Presented at the ICA International Symposium on Natural Fitness, Columbus, OH

1999 Gennaro, R.F. Diagnosis of Lumbar Spine Injuries. Presented to the Hudson Valley Athletic Trainer’s Society, Poughkeepsie, NY

1998 Gennaro, R.F. Muscle Energy Techniques and the Subluxation Complex. Presented at the ICA International Symposium on Natural Fitness, Columbus, OH, March 1998

BOARD CERTIFICATIONS:
2009 Manipulation Under Anesthesia
American Academy of Manual & Physical Medicine

2005 Master of Fitness Sciences
2005 Certified Fitness Trainer
International Sports Sciences Association

2004 Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist
National Strength & Conditioning Association

1999 SCUBA Diver NAUI

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:
• International Chiropractors Association (ICA)
• ICA Council on Fitness & Sports Health Science - Founding Board Member
• New York State Chiropractic Association
• National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA)
• International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA)
• West Point Society of New York
• West Point Society, Mid-Hudson Region
• The American Legion, Post No. 0001
• Business Network International
• Hudson Valley Athletic Trainer’s Society

COMMUNITY SERVICE:
• Town of Beekman Recreation Commission
• Hudson Valley Pop Warner Football Coach
• Hudson Valley Pop Warner Board of
Directors
• Beekman Athletic Club Little League Coach
• Arlington Central School District Safe & Drug Free
Schools and Communities Advisory Council
• Arlington High School Key Communicators Program


PATENT HOLDER: 2001 Portable Posture System

WORKER’S COMPENSATION CONSULTANT: 2002 Gap Inc, Distribution Center, Fishkill, NY

INDEPENDENT MEDICAL EXAMINER:

2002 Med Source Inc

2002 NCG corp.

1999- Med-Control Evaluation
Pres

HONORS & AWARDS:
2002 Award for Distinguished Achievement, International
Association of Fire Fighters

2000 Speakers Award, ICA Symposium on Natural Fitness

1998 New York Spirit of Strength Award, NY Strength

1998 Speakers Award, ICA Symposium on Natural Fitness

1994 NYCC Clinic Award / Outstanding Intern,
Levittown Health Center

1994 NYCC Chiropractic Technique Award

1994 Phillip Striano Memorial Award (NYCC)

1994 NYCC Alumni Association Service Award

1994 NYCC Distinguished Service Award

1994 Phi Chi Omega, Chiropractic National Honor Society

1989 Meritorious Service Medal, U.S. Army

1989 Army Commendation Medal, Oak Leaf Cluster,
U.S. Army

1989 Army Overseas Service Ribbon

1988 Army Commendation Medal, U.S. Army

1988 Honorable Order of St. Barbara, U.S. Army

1984 Army Service Ribbon, U.S. Army

1983 Air Assault Badge, U.S. Army

I Love This Chiropractor

I have been under the care of a chiropractor before. Never, ever have I had an initial exam like I had yesterday. He tested my body movements in ways that both surprised and impressed me. I have fabu flexibility in some areas, not so much in others.

I am so impressed by him that I am starting to take calcium again. I stopped because it made me so darn constipated I was miserable. I will find another way to poop and keep my bones strong.

He did manipulation on my ankle. It was painful and no fun.

He did stretching on my quad, which had me think "I am going to vomit." He hooked me up to the electrical machine and little needles danced all around.

He also found bursitis in my right hip. I had no idea I had it, never felt a thing or discomfort, but, man, when he touched my trochanteric bursa, I thought I was going to jump off the table. Icing is prescribed and I will do that.

He seems to know what caused the ligament in my ankle to rebel and will know for sure after he sees my older running shoes. I only brought my new size 9 ones and the new orthotics with me.

What caused the quad to join in the rebellion is uncertain at this point.

I told him I had not run since my 8 miles last Wednesday and asked if I would be doing real damage to myself if I ran now. He didn't answer that question, but asked that I wait until after he sees me on Wednesday. He also asked that I do no elliptical, which I agreed to.

So, I see Heather at 2:30 tomorrow and the doctor at 3:45 and I will have a clearer vision of what the next 3 1/2 weeks will look like.

3 1/2 weeks! Can you believe it?

We Surpassed $150,000

With less than a month left before our team laces up our running shoes and arrives at the starting line, we have succeeded in raising more than $150,000 for The Alzheimer's Association. Woo Hoo!!! My personal goal for our team is to surpass $200,000 by the time the fundraising closes. We can do it!

This is the reason I am doing this. The strides that have been made in diagnosing, treating and finding the cause and a cure is impressive. Funds will make the difference.

Our team will get to vote on how the money we have raised is spent. How cool is that?

On the "How am I doing physically" side of things:

My ankle is bothering me less and less each day. My quad is still an issue. I have not run since I did the 8 miles in the rain on Wednesday. I was able to do 30 minutes on the elliptical yesterday. I have no doubt that Heather can and will fix my quad. My ankle will be addressed this afternoon by the chiropractor. I am hoping I can do my long run on Sunday, so I can have that under my belt and then taper, baby!

I am in good spirits.

The Thin Line I See Today

There is this thin line between 'listen to your body' and 'copping out' for me this morning. It is all in my head, I do know that. My ankle and my quad could no sooner run 18 miles today than my mom could. I do think I could probably do 3 hours on the elliptical today and probably not be able to move without limping and wincing afterward. I still can't seem to quiet that voice that is telling me to BUCK UP, YOU WIMP.

I did 10 minutes on the elliptical as a warm up to my stretches yesterday morning. I had a hard time figuring out how to get on the darn thing without wincing in my quad - the lateral/upward motion is a killer - but it was fine.

I am going to see how I do after 20 minutes as a warm up this morning.

That's the plan and then tomorrow is the chiropractor so I will have someone tell me what to do. I like that. He can be the boss of me.

How Are You Emotionally About the Marathon?

My angel Heather asked me that yesterday.

I loved my answer. It was a 180 degree different answer than the answer I would have given her the first day I saw her. That day, I couldn't not cry.

I told her that I knew I could complete the 26.2 miles, if I arrived at the starting line healthy. I told her I trusted I was doing the right things to get healthy. I told her that it very well could be my 'first marathon stoopidity' but if I can run 16 miles in 2 hours and 45 minutes, I can do the last 10 miles in less than 3 hours and be done before the bus comes to pick me up. I even think I could do the last 10 miles in less than 2 hours and 15 minutes and be done in 5 hours.

The key is getting healthy.

Heather worked on the tendon in my left ankle. It was hot poker painful in one spot. I called that 'ground zero'. She told me that tendons do not have the blood supply of muscles and that they take longer to heal. This particular tendon is also very close to the bone and then other stuff I didn't really follow, as there was the hot poker pain thing going on.

Then she moved to my right quad. My quad pain was the most debilitating. I was unable to do my hip-flexor stretches as my leg would not move the right way. I couldn't roll over in bed without wincing in pain and moving my leg with my hands. There were times while driving when I had to lift my thigh up with my hands to move from the gas to the break.

We couldn't find any place on my quad that was "tender". She searched and searched and then - BINGO - there it was.

Remember way back in May, I had my second first - I fell. Heather started working on that spot where I fell. Holy Crap! It was not hot poker pain, but it was not fun. She showed me stretches for that muscle group.

Then she had me walk. It was another miracle. I had no discomfort in my quad. I had a little twinge around my knee cap - but nothing like how I walked in.

Then she worked again on my ankle. Hot poker still. She recommended that I see a chiropractor. She was so gentle and sweet about it, not really recommending it, but asking if I had ever seen one and so on.

So, Monday I have an appointment with a chiropractor who deals mostly with sports issues. Ha! I have sports issues! Ha!

So, last night and early this morning, I could roll over completely in bed without wincing in pain - that is very cool. I am walking without a limp although there is no spring in my step.

I am bailing on the 18 miler tomorrow.

I am open to doing 3 hours on the elliptical and will see how I am in the morning.

My Body is Talking

Yup.

I am getting this "Listen to your body." thing. It is talking and I am listening.

I go back and forth between being concerned about my right quad and my left ankle. I am not even going to do the elliptical today. I will see Heather today.

Advil is a great thing but I will not be taking one until after I see Heather today. I will be limping for quite a few hours today.

I am doing my entire stretching regimen, followed by icing, three times a day. I will not be running 18 miles this Sunday but I hope to be able to do some miles. I will not if my body says no.

Mantra: Get the the starting line healthy

I Am Physically In Trouble Again

My right quad and my left foot are in trouble. Such trouble that I really can't walk normally. I told Alex that I am walking like I have a hot poker stuck up both of the holes in my lower body.

I saw Heather yesterday afternoon. She worked a long time on my foot and thinks I might have a tendon problem. When she worked on my quad, there was no discomfort and no real problem, no matter how deep she went. But, when I got up, there it was! The discomfort and the difficulty lifting my leg to move.

I will not be running today or tomorrow. I may not even do the elliptical. I will see Heather again tomorrow. I am thinking the 18 miler is off the table for Sunday as well. We shall see.

My focus is getting to the starting line. I heal well, so........ we shall see.

One month to go!

I Am So Freakin' Proud of Me

Today was a scheduled 8 miler.

I woke up and it was raining.

The radar said it would stop around 9:00AM.

Then the radar said it wouldn't.

I said "Well..... I will just go run in the rain. It might rain on marathon day and that is not the day for me to run in the rain for the first time.."

Off I went. It was 51 degrees.

It rained, then it sprinkled, then it rained, then it poured, then it poured even harder, then it rained, then it poured, then it really poured, then it rained, then I was at 8 miles.

I wore my new cute Run2Remember cap. It kept the rain off my face for most of the run, except for that 10 minutes when it rained really, really hard.

I am glad I knew what it was like to run in soaked clothing from all that sweating I did in Florida. My feet were actually dryer today than they were when I sweated into my feet in Florida.

8.01 miles

1:18:18 duration

9'46" minute miles

Foot Stuff Again

My left foot is acting up still. I decided to do my elliptical today for an hour in place of running 5 miles. I plan on doing my 8 miles tomorrow. I see Heather tomorrow afternoon and will find out what she thinks I should do.

I think I am losing the nail on my second toe on my right foot. I can't tell for sure, as I get pedicures regularly. The toe bed looks bruised and that toe is tender when I am done running. I will know about that next week. In the meantime, I have ordered my favorite running shoes in a 1/2 size larger to see if that will give that toe some freedom. FinishLine lets me run in them for 15 days and return them for a refund if they don't work. How cool is that?

My Run2Remember gear is here! It is very cool. Maybe I will post photos of me in it.

Only if I look really cute.

Yesterday's Run

What I have to say, in no particular order:

1. I still sweat when it is 48 degrees out. I had my Halo sweatband on, with a bandana around
my ears to keep them worm. A little less than halfway through, I asked Lois to take my sweat soaked bandana from me. What a friend! She did!

2. My left foot and right quad was bothering me in the beginning of the run. It reflected in my times. My last half was faster than my first half.

3. Lois was a godsend. The bike path I ran on has numerous places where it crosses over roads. Lois was ahead of me for almost the entire 16 miles (Amy was usually behind me). At the first crossing, I noticed Lois was stopped and waiting. She looked back at me and waited until I was just about there and moved her bike into the crossing. THE CARS STOPPED! No kidding! I never had to change my stride or worry about the cars - Lois handled them for the entire run.

4. Power Bars are really hard at 48 degrees. They go limp at 75 degrees. I like chewing while getting fuel, so I am thinking I will cut them up to bite size pieces in order to save my teeth.

5. I imagined myself crossing the finish line. That was a very fun thing.

6. I drank half of the fluid I drank in Florida.

7. It was not great and not horrible.

8. Amy called Steve when we were done and in the car and told him to fill the tub for my ice bath. He did and added the 40 pounds of ice to it before we got home. I threw a sissy-fit and over-reacted and said that bad F-word more than needed and then just got into the bath with the ice already in it. OH MY GOD! I could not stop shaking for the first 10 minutes. By the time I stopped shaking, I felt horrible about for my sissy fit. Amy put warm towels on my back and brought me hot coffee. I couldn't hold the cup without shaking.

9. Steve was gracious and loving anf forgiving when I apologized for my sissy fit.

10. Amy went out and got bagels. I had a bagel with almond butter, after having that fancy schmancy replenish puke.

11. If I can do 16, I can do 18.

My Last 16 Miler

Way different to run in 48 degrees, although the hard facts regarding the final outcome are pretty much the same. How they got there are not.

Full report tomorrow.

16.01 miles

2:43:34

10'13"/minute miles

Chilly, Chilly, Chilly

I was looking forward to getting back to New York so I could stop running in hot and humid weather. Made me laugh at me. I was annoyed at how cool it was this morning. 48 degrees at 7:00AM, which is when I plan on starting my 16 miler tomorrow. I read somewhere that 50 degrees is the best running weather, so maybe I should just shut up and be happy.

I plan to leave home after dinner time and head down to Amy's tonight. I plan to sleep there, get up, do my entire regimen of stretching before we head out to the bike path. It will be strange to start a run 2 hours after I am used to starting.

Not sure if Lois will be joining Amy on a bike or not. The last time we did this, I ran 8 miles and I buggered up my feet so badly that I took 3 weeks off from running after that. What a ride it has been since then!

My left ankle is still speaking to me. We shall see how it does tomorrow.

Last Florida Training Run

It sprinkled on me. I was about halfway through my 5 miles and it started to spritz. I thought it was funny that the first clue I had that it was raining was that I saw spots on the pavement as I ran under street lights. I didn't feel it on my body as I just thought it was my own sweat!

My left foot is still the slowest to 'get with the program'. I'll see Heather on Wednesday and I will find out what is going on with that. My quads also seem to not be liking this. Historically, my quads have been the muscles I can count on. They are not happy lately. Meanwhile (knock on wood) my achilles is keeping a low profile.

Heading for the airport around 9:30 - should be home by dinner time. I will concentrate on staying hydrated during my trip home. I have failed each flight to do that. My long run will be with Amy down in Yorktown on Sunday.

5.05 miles

47:08 minutes

9'20"/minute miles

Didn't have Kyle to push me.

Back On Track

I had a good night's sleep and did my 8 miler this morning. I started out really uncomfortable. It took a good 2 miles to settle in again. Quitting was not an option, so I just kept on going. I was totally prepared to struggle the entire 8 miles. I didn't have to. Although the last mile was no fun.

My dad is still cranky. I don't known if my sister Robin talked to Michelle, read this blog or cold called my dad but I was leaving there just as she called. He did not want to tell her the story of the doctor visit. I doubt she got it out of him. He golfs today so let's have another eagle on his score card - well..... at least a birdie.

I found out last night that Kevin's mother is finally home from the hospital. Had me remember that there is all kinds of eldercare issues.

Heading back to New York tomorrow - I will do a 5 miler before I leave and then I will be running in the daylight and cooler temps!

For The 2nd Time

I got up, stretched, got on my running clothes, filed my FuelBelt, went out the door, jogged around my loop and quit.

Yup, I quit.

That has happened to me once before, years ago.

My left foot has a brand new problem, my right quad needs some more stretching.

I will do the 8 miles that was scheduled for today tomorrow.

I suspect the stress and the tenseness of my 6 1/2 drive back from Jacksonville yesterday was not good for my legs.

I will take care of me and my body and be ready to kick some running ass tomorrow.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

That was pretty much today.

Although, I prefer The Awesome, The Horrible and The Uncomfortable. I always like to end with the good stuff, to leave both me and you in a good place.

So...... Here goes:

The Horrible:

My mom, my dad and I traveled from Sun City Center to my sister's home in Jacksonville to be there for the appointment with the neurologist. It was about a 5 hour trip to get there. Michelle took time off from her job to get us into downtown Jax, to be there for the appointment. It took 3 months to get this appointment and it took me hours and hours fighting with and yelling at my dad's old neurologist to get the records required.

We left Michelle's at 10:00AM to get her at 10:15 and she drove. We got to the doctor's office at 10:50AM. I had all of the forms we needed to fill out done already. I went up to the window. My dad, mom and Michelle sat down.

It went something like this:

Me: My dad is here for his appointment, last name Dering. We have the forms filled out already. There is also a written copy of all the medication he takes and he has the pill bottles with him as well.

Receptionist: Who?

M: Dering

R: hmmmm, let me see (She looks through all of the records standing to her right and looks at me again and says) First name?

M: August

R: Okay - he is not here yet.

M: Yes he is, he came in with me. (I point to him)

R: Okay, thank you.

We wait

We wait

We wait

People come and go

At about 11:30, my dad asks me why we are there. I explain.

We wait

We wait

People come and go

At 11:40 my dad says, I am leaving and not coming back.

I get up and go to the receptionist window.

Me: My dad's appointment was for 11:00AM. People have come and gone and come and gone. When will my dad be taken?

R: He is not here yet.

M: Who is not here yet?

R: Your dad.

M: What? He is - we all came together. I told you he was here with me when I arrived.

R: He didn't sign in.

M: No, No, No. I told you he was here.

R: I'll see what I can do.

I tell my dad - he wants to leave right then. I say - lets wait to see what happens.

5 minutes later, someone calls his name. They say they can see him at 12:15.

My dad stands up and says:

Lynn don't argue with them - I'm leaving. I will not come back - I am leaving.

Michelle and mom get up. Michelle tires to reason with dad. He wants nothing to do with it. He will not do business with an 'outfit' that can't keep things straight.

It was awful. I thought Michelle was going to cry. I could do nothing. Michelle drove us back to her work, no one said a word the whole time. She got out and sorta said a goodbye to the car.

It was horrible.

HORRIBLE

The Uncomfortable:

I get in the driver's seat, to drive back to Sun City Center.

My dad has a bug up his butt about needing gas. I know we have at least a 1/4 tank left and he won't let it go.

We stop for gas.

He admits that there was a 1/3 of a tank left - really big of him (that was not sarcastic - that is big of my dad)

We are all hungry, we stop for lunch.

We have lunch.

I drive.

We hit rain.

We hit more and more rain.

We hit pouring down, 40 mph on I 75 rain.

We hit more rain.

We are stopped by an accident.

More pouring down rain.

Another accident.

More rain.

I got home at 6:30.

If I didn't have to run 8 miles tomorrow morning, I would be halfway to drunk by now.

The Awesome:

I ran with Kyle this morning. Kyle is tall. He also has those cool new shoes that are like running barefoot. Kyle has 35 minutes on his training schedule, which he tells me means 4 miles. I think - that is a bit faster than I run.

We start out - my left quad is talking to me and my right achilles is not too happy. Kyle is setting the pace. I am huffing and puffing. We get about 1/2 mile under our belt and I notice that Kyle is taking 2 strides to my 3. I am not settling in. I tell him I can not keep up that pace for the entire run. He slows down.

At 2 1/2 miles, I am comfortable. We keep moving. I feel good.

He leaves at 4 miles, I continue on for one more mile.

I had my very own PR (Personal Record) today for 5 miles. Not only that - I kept the same pace even through my last mile alone.

5.02 miles

43:51 minutes

8'44"/minute miles

All the way home, I thought I had a PR - but I looked it up and I had a 4 miler at 8'39" but I really need something great to have happened today - so I am going with the PR story.