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the list (three days left)
October 19, 2006
High 44
Low 29
Blustery NNW winds as steady early-day rain tapers to sprinkles. Flurries and possible snow showers in the afternoon/evening.
melissa pointed out that the forecast is more and more like the conditions of the freezescale marathon back in february. it's fine if the conditions are the same as that day, because we're better than we were that day.
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some of my friends are making lists, dedicating each mile of the marathon to a different person that helped, inspired, coached, supported, or whom the mere remembrance of will provide some motivation along the way.
this is far too organized for me. i like lists, and i intend to do something similar, but i'm just committing to remembering people at various points as they come to me, or as i find them.
this is not an exhaustive list, and it's not in any order. i've left off tons of friends, just for the sake of brevity and fairness... you know who you are.
danny escobedo - mr. escobedo died a few weeks ago, running the IBM 10K. it was his first race. in the past week, i've learned more about him, and spoken to his sister-in-law and wife. he deserves a spot for who he was, because he was a runner, but also, selfish as it is of me, for the part he played in bringing me back to what running is about. the story will follow soon.
diane - because it's all her fault. sort of. ok, so i went to the wrong RunTex Store for Psychotic Running People two years ago. still... it's all her fault. incidentally, i should mention that at least one person thought RunTex is really called the RunTex Store for Psychotic Running People...
frances (evil woman with clipboard) - my first coach, along with carolyn. a fountain of positivity and tough love. i still hear my running coaches yelling things in my head every time i run, and they have far drowned out the yelling that all those asshole football coaches did years ago. i mainly hear frances threatening to do various things to me if i kept going out at too fast a pace.
janay - the first friend i made in this running adventure, on a dark and cold night almost exactly two years ago, now. a few weeks later, as i skirted and censored talking about why i didn't feel well, she reminded me she was a psychologist. her learning aside, she just always listened, and told me the truth. she was also atomic-clock perfect, and kept me reined in. any time i strayed ahead of her, tiffany and katie, i got lost. i stopped doing that.
tiffany - tiffany was able to stick with running, and with me, since she's not producing small, hairless house apes (yet). she reads my blog, and i'll get the occasional seemingly innocuous email from her. she does not seem like a candidate for understanding me, but at the very least, she knows when shit is up, and she's there. she's training, finally, for the full marathon.
katie - as much as i needed janay to keep me in check, katie always pushed me. she's fast. i remember the first time i took off at the end of a long run, and she caught me, and the sprint was on.
janie - when i jumped into her marathon training group last year, i thought she was just some random chick with enough time on her hands to coach. one of greatest gross underestimations. i can't even begin to tell you, except to say that she and gabby are the blueprints for the coach I want to be. she's still sending love and encouragement from across the face of the earth, from malawi, where she and her husband went to make a real difference. she's the example i think of when i consider having a life that matters.
gabby - when janie left, gabby continued the love and the spirit through our 5K and 10K training. one of the best memories i have of running is being with my fellow p-dipps at her wedding this year. thing i har her yelling in my head: "relax your face! smile!"
kaci - for telling me i let up too much in the middle of workouts, saving for a finish. it made me work harder.
holly - because she was there before, she's been here since, and will be there sunday.
melissa (a.k.a. "bunny") - for being my unpaid therapist and friend. sounds simple enough, but it's not.
the yard guy - back in june or july, i did one of my typical sleep-through-the-long-run saturdays, and tried to make up the run by myself later in the day. like, at noon. with no water.
at the bottom of the big hill on scenic drive (creative, but apt), in front of one of the huge beautiful houses on the lake, a landscaping crew worked. a man was hosing out a wheelbarrow. i stopped and asked if i could have just a little water in my hands. he said, "no, no, too hot. you wait." he ran inside the house and came back out with a cold bottle of water.
he was out there making a living in the heat, and i was out there doing my hobby in it, but he wanted something better for me. i knew right then i'd remember him on october 22.
morgan - always above and beyond. remembers runs, asks how they went, gives me the appropriate amount of teasing about things. and at mile 16 of freescale this year, after the failure of my energy gel handoff at mile 12, he was standing on north loop with bottles of water and, miraculously, unbidden, packets of my favorite flavor of gu. he also took pictures of me and laughed at me, but that's to be expected.
the postfontaines - the people i coach remind me constantly what running is about, and i want to do well to show them that i get it.
carolyn - for coaching, listening, teaching, and cutting me slack at times when i wanted to train but couldn't immediately afford to.
steve - for creating an environment that promotes excellence, and community, and recognizes running as another path to understanding the wonders that we and the universe are.
ruth - because she's a coach, she is rogue, and she's so damned funny.
to be continued...
Posted by Rob at October 19, 2006 09:29 AM
Comments
This is going to be awesome, Rob!! You go out there and do your thing!!! Kick some butt and go for it with gusto!!! AND - have a great time! Love, Julia
Posted by: Julia at October 20, 2006 12:30 PM