Well, it's been a long while since I posted. Why? Not really sure - just feeling perhaps too relaxed and not terribly prolific. But lots going on.
First off, yesterday, I reached my milestone 220th -is that the way you say it - 220th? - day of running. Or simply put, I ran every day for the past 220 days. Today actually made 221. Definitely something I am proud of. If you remember way back to older blogs, my original goal had been to run for 110 days straight which had been a 10% improvement over the previous year's record for me. So, I had hit that mark 111 days ago and sort of just kept going. Somewhere in there, I re-set the goal to double it to 220 days straight. And honestly, toward the end it got extra fun and challenging....
We (my family and I) were on vacation in Phoenix/Hawaii from June 19th through June 30th. We stopped over in Phoenix just to break up our trip there. So, we ended up landing mid-day and as you may know, it's broiling there in June -probably 110+ degrees and running in that heat at that time just wasn't quite ready to happen and I figured I'd hit the gym - yes the tmill - later in the day. So we went to dinner with family and got back around 9:00. Guess what? Gym closed. It's still hot and now it's dark and my wife is of course calling me crazy for trying to do this. I came up with a relatively creative solution and ran around the garden - which was lit up and there was a formal party being held- around 20 times (or as I clocked it around 2 miles). I was definitely getting some interesting looks from some of the well dressed folks. No one offered me a martini to cool down.
Running in Hawaii was both incredibly challenging but beautiful. It was challenging because we rented a beautiful home that was set on the side of a cliff. The house was part of a community that was elevated (a.k.a. many hills) above Honolulu. So going out was super tough because there were these huge cross winds smacking me in the face for the first two miles or so just to get out of the community. But at least it was downhill. Getting back was easier as there was no wind but it was going back up these same hills. I did three or four different routes but probably my favorite but toughest was one that took me up and down the most incredibly but hilly road that paralleled the beaches - seeing that at the sunrise was definitely one of my best memories. All the runs were great and I was typically doing 5 to 8 miles per day.
On the way back we stopped in Phoenix and had my chance to experience real running in the heat. I got up around 6:00 AM and saw a bunch of women running outside so decided to go out as well. I realized quickly that I was running with Alpha Phi Sorority 5K - if I had taken a right after my first 3 miles I could have gotten a nice t-shirt; but I decided to keep going. Anyway, definitely a good warm-up for the summer experience to be running in 90+ degree weather early AM.
So what next in terms of this streak? Well, I may have to stop here. Since I've been back I've developed some sort of light but annoying flu or something like it. I've been coughing been a bit achy, etc. That sort of thing. I've been running through it but keeping it a bit shorter and lighter. At the same time, I have no doubt that some reasonable rest and relaxation would go a long way towards helping me. I definitely need to be as healthy as possible as we just kicked off Teens Run Yonkers Summer Programs yesterday and I want to be around for all of that. So, we'll see. I had originally intended today to be the first break day but I couldn't sleep past 5:45 and well, just did it (as Nike says) for 4+ miles. Stay tuned
In other news - excited as I just finished collecting petition signatures to be the District Leader for Yonkers City Council District 3. This involvement is new for me and looking forward to seeing if I could make some sort of meaningful contribution in this process. I feel like lots of folks complain about the state of politics and how things are run. But better to see what it's like and see if you can be part of good change as opposed to just moaning and groaning.
Finally, I've had sports on the mind a good bit. First off, and doubt this is of major interest to many but I've been very addicted to following the off season free agency trades for the NHL. I guess this marks a new level of fandom for hockey. I typically take a break from thinking hockey for the summer but now that I've got "The Hockey News" app on my phone, in my free moments, I find myself feverishly checking where such and such player is going. I'm still floored by how the Minnesota Wild can offer two players (Parise and Suter) nearly 200 million over 13 years (?) and still be in business. I have to understand this cap thing better. And don't the rest of these players feel really bad about themselves? If I'm the guy getting $800,000 a season (which I'd take in a heartbeat) how does it feel that someone else is getting like 10x what you are.
Anyway, it all reminds me of the Seinfeld piece where he talks about how fickle we are as fans. It is amazing how one minute we're in love with a player, he ends up getting traded (he's essentially wearing a new shirt) and we hate his guts? It's pretty crazy. I don't remember the rest of this but it really does but me out that the Rangers lost Ruslan Fedotenko and Brandon Prust as I think it'll come but to haunt them. But I digress
If you're still reading this, stop and go enjoy the day, your family or get back to work -
No comments:
Post a Comment