Friday, January 30, 2009

A Little Help From Your Friends


You know it: That line from "Field of Dreams?"
If they see it, they will come.

So if I put it in words and photos --
TODAY I WILL RUN --
Maybe I will actually do it. I hope these photos from Disney will inspire me.

Above, the FINISH. At right, I was running back down Main Street - about 7 miles into the race. A time when I was not feeling well either: only halfway through the race and "dying" - at least in my head. What was I thinking? Running a Half Marathon alone. Not a good idea. Never again. The only way to do something this hard is to do it with someone else, sharing the experience.

It's been one week since my last post - and I still don't feel well! Of course, I finally went back to work on Monday: I had to help Donna and Nancy with a huge PowerPoint presentation and records management training session for our Field Training Officers this week. It probably didn't help that I worked 9 and 10-hour days early during the week, and then had to babysit whining cops yesterday (a few of them really needed a slap across the face!). But Donna and Nancy, as I have said before, are not my "bosses" - they are my friends. We make such a good team when we work together: it's almost not work.

How do people do it when they are sick and alone? These past few weeks have been miserable: no energy to do anything except lay on the couch and sleep (not even much enthusiasm for watching TV.) And with Gianni sick the past week, too, our house has an aura of sickness and doom. Thank goodness Micio Bello finally seems better. Just what I wanted: a new cat. But he "hates" me because I've been catching him and giving him medicine the past 6 weeks. At least he has become Gianni's shadow.

Wait a minute. Friends. That's what I'm supposed to be writing about. OK. I'll do that tomorrow -- Alex, and Tracey, and Linda.
As usual, I'm off on a tangent. Since starting this post, I have: 1) gone to the doctor (again) with Gianni so he could get a work excuse note; 2) shopped at Target for a warm humidifier/vaporizer with Vicks inserts for our colds; 3) downloaded and edited my photos from Disney; and 4) fixed Gianni's computer errors. Am I any closer to getting out the door and running??? No.

Gotta do it. Gotta run. My FINISH certificate for more inspiration. I really did do good - especially the "85 of 363" in my Age Division place.
Not bad for an "older" lady.

Here I go. Here I am, gearing up.
Here I am: walking out the door with my iPod and Garmin.
Here I am, walking in the driveway.
Here I go. Really.
I AM GOING TO RUN. Soon.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Running Back from a Cold

Slowly re-surfacing.
Head still underwater; sinuses and nose still clogged with gunk.
Great finish for Disney.
But LOUSY since then.

COLD.
At the race. (Geez ... it was 46 degrees at 3:30am when I boarded the bus; 50 to 55 for the race!)

COLD.
Caught it Saturday night/Sunday morning at the hotel.
At least I didn't get sick until *after* the race.

Went to work late, but made it through Monday, so the ladies of Records could see I survived. Toughed it out on Tuesday.
Foggy in a meeting on Wednesday. So I came home.
Been bundled up in sweats, blankets, slippers since.
Gone through 3 bottles of Nyquil.
Setback yesterday because I went to neighbor's wedding on South Beach yesterday afternoon -- and it felt good to get out of the house while sipping wine -- but crashed about 9:00 last night.

So, what have I been doing all day today? Planning for my next race, of course!

Didn't realize how well I ran Disney until I checked on-line results of my two running pals at yesterday's Naples Half Marathon. My mentor and pacer (who I chased for 12 weeks and who runs a minute/mile pace faster than me) finished her Half only 2 minutes slower than my Disney finish! The wonderful doctor I ran with for my best time before Disney did not even finish the race.

You would have thought that my COLD would have been a clue for how much effort it took on my body to run Disney. But no, I had to compare myself with my running buddies. My heart goes out to both of them - I imagine their finishes were disappointing.

So, even though I have not run in more than a week -- Hey, cut me some slack here. Coaches tell you to take off from running one day for every mile you ran after finishing a marathon; so 13 days from Disney means I don't even have to start running again until Friday! -- I'm looking at running a 5 miler in downtown Ft. Lauderdale near the end of March; including, maybe, the annual COPS 3K run in Central Park in 3 weeks.

If I can ever breathe again.
If I can stop coughing.
If I can make it through a night without Nyquil.
The brain and spirit say RUN.
The body says, "You're insane."
Today, the body is still winning.
Let's see what happens on Friday.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Finish Line Look

2009 WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon - Half Marathon
January 10, 2009
Last updated on January 10, 2009
12434 Finishers - 5253 Male / 7181 Female

KATHLEEN ANTONA #35562
PLANTATION, FL
Age: 55 Gender: F

2:32:58

Overall Place 6106 / 12434
Gender Place 2799 / 7181
Division Place 87 / 365

Friday, January 09, 2009

It's A "PIP" Thing

Hope I can sleep - well, at least relax.
Off to bed at 9:30 p.m. the night before Disney Half.
Gear, clothes, extra clothes, extra extra (warm) clothes packed -- ready beside the bed. Drank LOTS of water all week.
Wake up call and iPod alarm set for 3:00 a.m.
Why? Just wrote it on my race bib: "It's a PIP Thing. Private/Important/Personal."
I'm as ready as I will ever be.
Now if I can just turn off the head for a few hours and make it to the start line in all the craziness.
Wish this race was over already!