The Final Dance

About an hour ago the Wasatch 100 started carrying with it the end of the summer, the end of the Slam for Ironhorse Terranova and the completion of that dream. What a bountiful beauty of a place those trails in the Wasatch are! It also could be the last days of the fierce heat that has cabin fevered the Boo. But that is over after today. By tuesday next week maybe the Doc will say I am far enough along to start using the arm brace less and get on with a more versatile life, although I tend to feel that isn't likely. Running a trail again would be a novelty, but I don't mind the few outings on the roads. It is now September!

Seven Years Later

Streams of the new day broke through the gray storm clouds as we zigsawed our path where we could up Claibourne ave. into the ninth ward. Boodini had let me know that we needed to make a go towards the crescent city once again because she knew he would be waiting. For hours out of Texas the windshield wipers gave beat to the cadence of the clicking road beneath our wheels on that Louisiana highway from Lafayette to Morgan City, and then north to New Orleans.We had arrived, and as we pulled up in front of the battered small church house roof from the boat's bow was Boo's tattered, wet, hurricane Issac beat brother. Almost a splitting imagine of herself. Like old home week.........

Nothing Doing

Most of the time we're doing stuff. Then stuff happens and the stuff we were doing turns out to be the last thing we remember.Like heading down a road and you lose track, get lost, have a senior moment, then bamm...what? It may not be what was on the schedule, or plan, or goal, but it sure feels like living.You could say clouds got in the way? Take a look down that different, winding ,deserted path your headed,open up to it and make sure to tell yourself that it's OK to do nothing, especially if your with a bud.....

Open Highway

It's now or never. Obviously noone is living forever and this running is living while I'm alive. Today after six weeks and with this state of the art brace I headed out in the hood and knocked off a 5K in 28 mins. Nothing really special to that, but it felt so right, that just the art of running was living the dream. Boodini has two races coming up but is being a very lazy girl about her training. That will not fly, there will be no more tolerating her digging in with all fours, biting her leash in rebellion against running her course, and that should be that. She won 50lbs. Of food last year at the Blue Dog Race and has eaten all of that, must defend her title. No work No Food! We' ll see what time it is tomorrow.

Just Ten Days

Besides raining in the front and back, there's the just ten day theory. It's kinda a grand ole thing. But it's been a haul that seems to be ending at least in part Tuesday, only to be followed by another, yes you guessed it , Another Ten Days. Boodini has tried her best to take over, she bit grandma again, but now she has been shut down. No more swirling and herding around now for Boo. If the cast was bitable it would have been bit. Don't know what possesses the moment but it's evil, Boodini left to her own devices contemplates nothing less than pure evil. Ten days.....

The New Normal...The Tiger Runs

Angela Ivory died at 44, I remember checking her car at 3am at Run Like the Wind, and she told me ...just taking a break on her 24 hour event. I will miss her, she was fine and humble and a woman.
This is something she wrote before her death to cancer...

She never asked"why me?"
The answer would have been"why not me?
But she's hurting, she's sick, and she's tired
Your strong, they tell her
She feels like a fraud
She feels weak, sad and mad
You look good, they tell her
But her eyes are yellow
She's lost 25 pounds
She's losing her hair again
Neuropathy has taken over her left foot, and both hands
What has happened to her body, mind, and spirit?
A force stonger than her has taken over
She wonders how she will make it through another day
Too much chemotherapy, radiation,injections, pills, blood tranfusions,
and hospital stays
It's enough to drive a sane woman crazy
But she keeps going
Not knowing how to give up or give in
It could be worse she tells herself
But it's no comfort
She misses being herself
She misses feeling good, full of energy,and being happy
She wants her life back
She can't adjust to the new normal
It sucks big time
She watches another beautiful day from her window
I want to run again, she says
Instead she shuffles back to her couch, in front of the television
Sitting, tears in her eyes, and gasping for air, she knows she can't even walk before feeling faint
One day, she'll run again
She knows in her heart that the new normal has to be temporary
She will be well again
Patience shes never had would come in handy now
Hope is all that remains
She has to believe....

Goodbye Angela.....your running again in my mountains, clouds and sky!

The Surge

End of Feb. I plodded along enjoying running the marathon with thousands of others, I carried a water bottle, filled it when it needed filling and could go on past the crowds of the 26 aid stations. I have always preferred a water bottle until the Nathan came along, which I got to avoid any more strain from carrying the water bottles. That night as I was cooking my line partner looked frightened pointing to my hand, which sported a welt. It was decided to be just a ganglion cyst, no big, and no pain( this was before my DNS at Mass). The hand doc wasn't buying that, the X-rays didn't show that, and we went to the knife last Friday. So it's been a week and all is well or so it seems. I am looking to Tuesday for my four week cast, wanting to run though would be ok if it wasn't for this towel wrap of a bandage which I figure will just sponge all my sweat into a nice stinking mess. Maybe I'll wait to run right before I go in for the cast and then we take it off, clean up the wound,pull stitches,and who's to care? Boodini looks at the wrap, sniffs, lucky for me she isn't disapproving of the get up.She doesn't like things sometimes.