The biggest battle can be showing up

May 13, 2019 - May 19, 2019

Monday (5) - A run that didn't feel like a struggle.  That was nice!  The rain started just as I was getting back to campus, well timed too!  No elliptical for a couple weeks and my hip pain is gone.  I've also been really diligent breaking up the bound up tissue, that could account for it too.

I'm seriously lacking in pictures this week...

This was from the place I stay in NH.
Gus was their dog, how cool!

Tuesday (3) - Took a walk at lunch, the sun was out, it was lovely.  I walked some new to me streets, always fun.  A little core work and gossip after completed the workout.

Stopped at my favorite packy and picked up some local brews!

My new project at work is going well.  I have some really inspiring and energetic team members, there are 7 of us.  So far it seems like one is going to be a slacker, to her credit she nominated DaBomb to the team.  I was pretty relieved because that part is right up DaBomb's alley.  This leaves me with the solo concern about team dynamics. I'll give it a couple more weeks and see if she volunteers to drop to ad hoc/FYI status before I ask if she would consider it based on her competing priorities.

Wednesday (2 + 4) - Mid morning eye doctor appointment.  Ugh.  After failing the field vision test - could be the machine could be a brain tumor - the added insult of eye dilation and partial blinding by shining a bright light to see the lack (yeah!) of progress of retinal detachment.  I walked to the eye doctor, its a bit over a mile, and I knew I wasn't getting out for a run and Dave was biking later so I had Jax duty.   I have to go back and repeat the test.  I am not a good test taker.  (Note:  I did retake the test it was an equipment issue)

A wet and muddy Jax is a happy Jax.

Jax and I had a really fun hike in Grills, well he'd tell you it wasn't fun till we got about 2 miles in and the Yellow trail was completely flooded, like up to his chest.  He was quite thrilled with this and splashed around and cooled off and was so much more fun and happier after that, and then there were more puddles, mostly long ones, not too deep, he ran through them with abandon.   He LOVES to be wet muddy and dirty.  We got to the car and his harness was soaked and he was still pretty damp.  See, he milks the 'my knee hurts' thing and I lift him up into the car and I get even messier.   I collected some super deep briar scratches on my legs.  Not really here nor there BUT I had a swanky thing in NYC the next day and well, thankfully it wasn't 90F or my thick tights used to mask the flaming red gashes would have looked pretty silly.

Thursday (2) - Knowing I had this gala at the Pierre, ohhhh doesn't that sound all posh, pretentious and swanky New Yorkey?  Bah...  I figured I'd set up meetings with colleagues I don't get to see in person.  Hey I'm gonna be in NYC on the 16th, lets meet in person was met with happiness to see me in person happiness to see you in person.  Well...  they all decided to work from home!  It was so nice out, why spend all the time commuting.  FFS.  I'll cut my boss a break because she had a crisis she had to deal with early in the morning and going into the city wouldn't be a good use of her time.  It would have been lovely to go in later in the afternoon, like after I got to enjoy the nice weather, but that didn't happen.

See I'm really lacking pictures.

I had a lovely walk from work E42nd and 2nd to the Pierre E61st and Madison.  Madison was a complete zoo what with the president being in town visiting his tower on 5th Avenue.  The gala was nice, we were honored for our work with NYLAG and the NY Cancer Clinic.  Dessert was awesome!

Friday (2) - I looked at the wrong commuter train schedule New Haven to Grand Central not Grand Central to New Haven and thought I had more options so I could make my 10:30 call at home.  UM NO.  Fortunately I don't sleep well in hotels and it was another 5 a.m. wake up to quickly realize my mistake and get myself together for the train back to New Haven so I could get into the office for my call.

Along the 3rd or the 1st section of Sammy C's.
Depends on which side you start.

When I finally did get home Dave explained that the rain was going to get worse so it was now or never for a hike with Jax.  It rained for the whole 2 mile hike, Jax moped, we were soaked, and then when we got home the sun came out and it was lovely.  HUH.  Well at least we all got outside.

Saturday (16) - Again I woke up not in a great way on Saturday, not as bad as last Saturday but still, what the hell.  I wanted to get on the road for NH 2ish and I wanted a bike ride, riding my bike makes me feel better, even if it is for a short ride.  My initial plan was to go down to the beach, but I decided I'd rather go to Pawcatuck and ride up River Road and do part of the loop I used to run back when I could run more than 5ish miles at a time.   The river was so beautiful!  The green of the trees and grass is the neon green of new green, the river was a beautiful blue against a lighter blue sky.  It was so visually pleasing.    I'm glad I chose to go that way, it is far prettier than the beach.

OMG the color and the sun and there were a lot of boats on the river too.

Sunday (5 + 2) - Dirty Girl Trail race day!  Leslie puts on a great race and this would be my third time running it.  Last year was a fiasco and I was really nervous about a repeat of that, so for this one actually getting to the start line was the first win.

Mount Washington still has snow in May.

There were a lot of women running the race, I don't know the numbers but it seems like way more than in the past years.  Probably because of the controversy over the logo.

Clearly someone was upset about a girl running.
I don't get it.

This is a mass start trail race.  This year it was a 5 mile or 10 mile option, previous years it was a 10K.  The same format a loop you do once or twice in the Tin Mountain Conservation Center trails.

My weekly run(s) start with me walking about 1/4 of a mile up hill before I start running.  I wasn't sure how all that was going to play out in a mass start where I did HAVE to run to at least hang with a group in my pace range (not get too far back).  I managed to stay with a group for a while then step aside and find a new group.  I found a great one, but they all pulled off to tie shoes and get water so I trudged along and found bit faster of a group, a few broke away and I hung on with them until the end.  Along the way I thanked everyone for pulling me along and secretly wondered along the carriage path if maybe I should pass the group of 4 and go out on my own.  I didn't.  These women helped pull me along through some pretty technical stuff and we were having a good time.   Or at least I was.

Happy to start and to finish.

The finish was in hearing distance and the two middle women who weren't with the lead woman and the woman behind me, had the audacity to pass the lead woman.  She pulled them through most of the race and one of them sprinted past her with 200 yards to go with the other following.  The woman behind me passed me when I realized my shoe was untied and I pulled off to tie it.  I caught up to her to see this all happening and she started walking. I gently touched her on the back and said, "Come on we can run this in, you've got this."  As she had legit passed me I was not going to pass her with the finish in sight.  Neither one of us were going to get any age group awards, this was about finishing, not about beating someone.



With a beautiful stout compliments of Garrison City Brewing I cheered as the other women who pulled me along in the beginning crossed the finish line.

I've crossed many finish lines, most of them I've been disappointed in something, it's taken me until recently to realize that is no way for me to live.  I have enough shit going on, why make something I enjoy into a way to torment myself?

Who knows where I placed, I don't really care, the true victory was getting to the start line of this race.  Results here  (I haven't looked at them, just the fabulous picture Fabienne at the 10 - Mile turn around)

We all run and race for our own reasons and with our own abilities.  This is one of the few races I feel like part of a running community.  Kudos to Leslie for creating that atmosphere!  She greets everyone as they cross the finish line and finds the time to chat with pretty much everyone if she knows them or not.

What's that?

After a long drive home and inhaling a bag of granola and half a gallon of water, I got home to a very lonely Jax.  I stumbled around for a bit and Dave finally showed up from his day out.  I took Jax to Riverwood where we enjoyed climbing the ledges, well he did, my knees weren't too keen on this but the poor guy was home alone.

I keep telling myself I'll pick a spot and take a picture there once a month.
I do have a few pictures from this particular spot.
It is so nice to see the new green on the leaves and the river is so high!

Knitting -

I started a pair of socks, melon in color.  Finished the first one Sunday night, I'll start the second one Monday night.  I don't have SSS, Second Sock Syndrome like so many people do.  I enjoy the soothing process of knitting.  There was an article in the New York Times about this very subject, knitting and relaxation.

Reading -

Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck

It's over.  This book is so sad and so humbling.  People who have nothing and have known nothing but having nothing are constantly trying to make their lives better to the point of when they have nothing left to give they find someone with even less and give the last thing they have.

"Changes in the Land"
by William Cronon

I'm fascinated by the natural environment.  What I learned in this book was you can't let nature just be nature if you intend on using it.  The Native Americans knew this and treated the land in a way to make sure they could continue using it to live off.    The other thing I took from this book was perspective, we know how things are now and read history with a current perspective, we know how it turned out, well the folks back then were living it and it was their reality.    They did not have a crystal ball to see the future and how things would change from their reality of 10, 20, 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 1000 years from then.

"An Anonymous Girl"
by Greer Hendricks

I needed some mind candy after all that thinking and reality.  This is about a psychological experiment on ethics and morality.

The week started great and ended better!

Sincerely,
Beth, the miracle isn't in finishing it is in making the commitment to start (bastardization of John Bingham's quote)