Manhattan

April 18, Wednesday

Matt and I spent the day wandering Manhattan.  We started the day with a visit to Central Park.  I’m always impressed the amounts of green space cities have.   

We wandered through the tall buildings, alternating stops in Starbucks with the old churches.  Stepping from a noisy street to a quiet church was incredible.  I’m all about the old architecture in the churches and welcomed a peaceful haven of their interiors.  Starbucks stops just ensured a bathroom with toilet paper.  Yup, I’m classy. 

 

 

 

We went up the Empire State Building for the views.  We took our time ascending and looked at the display boards detailing its construction.  Technology is incredible when you think about it.  When we reached the top, the sky suddenly clouded and a light rain fell.  Even though I was safely behind the fence separating me between the building and the ground, my stomach turned.  I really don’t like heights.  It’s funny how I like them less and less as I age.  We didn’t stay long.

 

Our next main stop was the 9-11 Memorial.  It is still under construction, but I found myself moved by the energy the site still holds.  Eerily, several airplanes flew overhead while we were there.  That wasn’t something I enjoyed.  It made the devastation of that single day feel more real than it had been before.  I remember where I was when I heard the news.  My high school classes watched planes crash into the buildings that once stood here throughout the day.  Our entire country watched that day in disbelief, terror, and mourning.  Places like this never lose that energy.

 

It felt good to step into the crowds of nearby Wall Street.  We walked back to the train from Battery Park and along the Esplanade to clear our heads.  Somehow a city doesn’t feel as crowded when there’s some green nearby.

 

My favorite part of NYC:

 

To the City

April 17, Tuesday

Aboard the Amtrak train to New York City, Matt dozed as I looked out the window.  It always seems like trains travel through the ugliest of areas.  Narrow footpaths traveled through grass around several factories.  Our trails at home often look like that; in fact, the typical Alex trail looks just like them.  The trails along the tracks seem more dangerous, but that might just be because they are unfamiliar.  I was surprised when we stopped in Providence.  Rhode Island?  Really?  I don’t know much about the specifics of New England geography, but I somehow was surprised that we were moving south to go to New York.  Yes, feel free to call me an idiot.  But until this trip, the farthest east in the U.S. I have ever been was Ohio, so this is all new territory for me.

The train moved onto a bridge that towered high above the nearby buildings.  Suddenly the tall buildings of Manhattan appeared on the horizon.  I’m not sure what I was expecting, but they were massive and there weren’t just a few, the entire island seemed to be covered in skyscrapers. (Yup, small town girl, right here!)  

We arrived at Penn Station and were immediately confronted with the chaos that is Manhattan.  Completely overwhelmed by the people rushing by as I towed my suitcase behind me, I breathed a sigh of relief when I finally sat down on the train to Queens and out of the craziness.  Then we had arrived at Amanda’s address.  We didn’t know what buzzer to push to get her apartment.  Amanda and I went to school together growing up.  Standing there, about to ring the bell, I couldn’t remember a single conversation we had had back then.  Other than her being in my class, I didn’t recall anything we had in common then.  I guess that was good, because I didn’t go in with any expectation whatsoever.  But it was a huge step out of my comfort zone to stay with someone I didn’t know very well.

 Matt approves of Sweaty Bands headbands!

To break into something we were both comfortable in, we went for a run.  Running is exactly what brought us to each other 10 years after graduation.  Amanda loaded her son, MG, into a stroller and we were off.  My legs creaked angrily after the previous day’s draining run.  Matt loved the pace, and one day after a marathon, it was more of a shuffle than anything else.  

 I guess this is what the first run after a marathon always looks like, right Matt?

We ran to Astoria Park and then along the East River.  The sun was just setting behind Manhattan.  It was gorgeous.  Looking at the city from a distance felt nicer than being immersed in it.   

 The newest type of track workout!?

MG and Matt began to fuss, both for different reasons.  I found that a good time to quickly take a lap around the park and stretch my legs.  The fatigue of travel weighed on my legs and fast felt awful.  Once I caught up with them again, it was better.  

Even though we had a river separating us from the city, it was impressive to see how much residential area there was.  Knowing it is our country’s biggest city should have been a tip-off, but the neighborhoods stretched on and on.  I definitely had to go and check out what draws so many people to this crowded place.  But tomorrow, after some more sleep, I hoped, I’ll feel better after some sleep.

Marathon Monday, p2.

April 16, Marathon Monday P. 2

My post-run shower was so quick that I was still sweating when Laura drove me to the train station.  I jumped aboard the train from Boston Commons toward Woodland Country Club, about mile 18.5 on the course.  The first three stops on the train took 30 minutes (they stop at miles 25 and 26 on the course).  Luckily I nabbed myself a seat and didn’t have to stand with my butt in someone’s face.  I did spend 30 minutes with a young couple making out and groping each other just inches from me.  Seriously, people?  It was disgusting.

By the time the train moved above ground near Newton, it looked more and more like I wasn’t going to make it.  The crowds on the train thinned, but it basically just gave me more time to worry about missing him.  We estimated that Matt would pass by the aid station at mile 18.6 at around 11:50.  I arrived at 12:02 and completely disappointed.  I found a spot two or three people deep to watch the runners pass.  If Matt was running even slower than his 10K split, I could probably still see him.  I half hoped he had slowed down so I could see him.  But he didn’t.  I stayed until 12:30, scanning the street for MY red-shirt runner.  I’m not sure if he would have seen me cheering there anyways.  The entire course seemed to be lined with people, from start to finish.  I stood there watching beet red runners pass.  These runners were on pace for about a 3:30 finish.  And they all looked like crap.  Sweat beaded up and dripped down my legs.  I was standing here and sweating profusely, I couldn’t imagine being a runner.

I returned to the train and resolved to catch Matt the moment he came out of the finish area.  Nearly all the finishers appeared disappointed and/or worn out.  Most of them were soaking wet.  Finally Matt appeared.  Compared to many of the others, he looked great!  

The winner of the men’s race finished 10 minutes behind last year’s.  Many people were carted to the hospital.  Although Matt was going for a sub-3:00, he was more than happy with his 3:17 performance.  All the bib numbers are based on qualifying time and he noticed finishing in his 5000-something number among those in the 2000-3000 range.  That showed improvement between his qualifying race and now.  He went out conservatively, but still managed to slow down (even the elite runners had positive splits) by the end.   

If recovery continues to go well, he will attempt a do-over race on May 6.  It is our local spring marathon and is the best place to go for a new PR.  He gets to sleep in his own bed, he knows the course, the weather is more predictable, and many of the local runners know him by name.  And since I’m running the half there, I’ll get a do-over on being his cheerleader. 

After Matt took a break in the shade and had some snacks, he said he wanted to walk a few subway stations down so we could catch a direct train (and less stairs, haha) back to Laura’s.  Random people dressed in suits, going about their typical day, caught sight of him and gave their congratulations.  We both thought that was really cool.  Nearly a dozen strangers!! I think that was the best part of the day for him: the atmosphere of it all.  Runners and non-runners came together to support a single event.  

 Oops! It looks like someone forgot to sunscreen his legs!  

Don't worry, all the rest of his freckles were unharmed on Marathon Monday.

Matt had a shower and we decided to go for a walk.  He took the stairs slow and deliberately.  I laughed, “Hurry up, Grandpa!”  A smile spread across his face.  We bought watermelon and iced tea and all things liquid.  Even though I didn’t run the race, I felt that with the combination of my long run and spectating, that I had a pretty good feel for what the day was like.  In a small park near the grocery store, we chatted in the shade as he told me about the spectators, screaming Wellesley girls, the water tunnels along the course.  In fact, his run sounded like it went better than mine with an abundance of water.  I’m so glad he got to enjoy the Boston Marathon experience.  He says he doesn’t want to come back unless I’m going to run it too.  I think I still have to hold firm on my original position: I don’t think I want to run Boston.

Marathon Monday, p1.

April 16, Marathon Monday. Part 1.

 Sexy Man Toes say: RUN FAST!

We were up with the sun and on the road by 6am.  We got on the highway at Charlestown, still miles from Boston Commons, and couldn’t ignore the line of school buses that idled miles to the north.  There must have been literally hundreds of buses.  It wasn’t until that point that I realized what a big deal the Boston Marathon really is.  This town is ALL marathon on Patriot’s Day each year.  That part was incredible to see.  Matt munched on a bagel and jumped out into the street at Boston Commons as I quickly gave him a kiss, reminded him to race smart, and snapped his photo.  He disappeared into a sea of neon runners.

Laura and I returned home to have breakfast before I went out on my own run.  She tuned the TV to the live marathon coverage they broadcast all day long, set her phone for updates on Matt’s splits and called her mom and Matt’s mom (her aunt) with his bib number so they could track him too.  She basically set up a marathon spectating center in her own living room.  That’s probably why I dragged my feet and didn’t get out for my run until almost an hour later than expected.

I tucked the M&Ms in my shorts pocket, filled a smaller bottle with Gatorade and was off.  Many runners headed the direction I did, to the museum and Charles River path.  The bright sunshine and light breeze felt wonderful.  I planned to take the first half of the run easy and then speed up if I felt like it.  From the beginning, it was kind of a struggle, and I had to keep reminding myself this is more of a sightseeing run than a pace run.  It was already 80F by the time I stepped outside, so it was no time to worry about how fast I was going.  I could still feel Saturday’s walking in my legs too. 

By mile 5, I reached Harvard University.   

I zigzagged around the campus and snapped pictures.  This was the only shade of my entire run and it felt AWESOME.  By mile 7 or 8, I started to slow down a little and jumped off the trail under a shade-less tree and ate my M&Ms.  Luckily the peanut ones were solid enough that they didn’t turn to mush in my pocket as the plain ones probably would have.

I was completely out of water by the halfway point.  I turned around and ran with the breeze.  No longer sweating profusely, the salt stung my eyes.  This run was warmer than any other in the last six months by almost fourty degrees!  No wonder my body hated it so much.  The thing about running along a river path is that water is RIGHT THERE but you can’t (or shouldn’t) drink it.  It tempted me.  From miles 9 to 11, that is literally all I thought about.  I almost swam in it.  I scanned the path for drinking fountains.  Once my body stops sweating it literally feels like I’m being baked. 

About mile 12, I finally found it: a water fountain!  I filled my bottle, emptied it in one gulp and then refilled it.  I let the cool relief wash over my salty face.  I felt instantly better.  

I returned to the path knowing I would indeed make it.  It must have been about 10am then; Matt would be starting soon.   I couldn’t imagine running a marathon that started late in this heat.  Everyone that finished this year’s Boston is my personal hero.  Everyone.  

As I struggled to finish with barely a 9:00/mi pace, I prayed that Matt would take it easy and not go for his goal.  I think that I was more disappointed in the weather than he was.  He trained so hard and I believe he had it in him to run a sub-3:00 on a good day.  That day wouldn’t be today.  When he jumped out of the car that morning, I reminded him that if he took it easy enough, he could count it as a training run and run our club’s Avenue of the Giants Marathon on May 6 and go for that sub-3:00 goal there.

When I returned to the house, Laura told me that Matt’s 10K split was a 7:15/mi pace.  YES!  He was being smart!  This is so great!  I quickly rushed off to an icy shower and then left to spectate the race.

Marblehead

April 15, Sunday

After a full day of walking around Boston the previous day, Matt vetoed my idea of doing it all over again.  He really needed a rest day before the marathon.  We decided to tag along with Laura and Ben to Marblehead, a coastal town about 30 minutes north of Boston.  Mark was away for the weekend competing in a series of sailboat races.  Sailing, along with cricket, lacrosse, and the other decidedly “East Coast” sports are a complete mystery.  We watched about ten different sailboats maneuver in circles.  There was some sort of strategy to it that Mark later tried to explain, but I’m still just as clueless as ever.

The town was nice.  Narrow streets meandered between the 18^th century homes.  Many homes displayed signs announcing the purpose and original owner of the home.  Curiously, we snooped in on one that was for sale.  1.5 million dollars.  Matt and I felt horribly out of place with everyone dressed to the nines in Polo Ralph Lauren, even two year old Ben.  This is where the money lives.  But the staff at the restaurant where we got take-out lunches was incredible. 

Ever since I was a small child, I’d learned about the pilgrims and first European settlers in America.  They landed in this general area.  All the time I was picturing what their towns were like.  Suddenly, I was transported into that world that only existed before in my imagination.  I could touch the buildings.  I could walk the streets.  I half expected someone dressed as a Thanksgiving Pilgrim to walk down the street, tip his hat to me and say “Good Day Ma’am.”

We returned home.  Matt and I went for a walk, got some ice cream, and some fuel for my long run the following morning.  I bought peanut M&Ms and a bottle of Gatorade.  I wasn’t running the marathon, but I had my own long run of 16 miles all mapped out and ready to go.

Meltdown on the Run

…..a break from the vacation posts….

“Dad was in the E.R. with heart attack symptoms, and then they transferred him by ambulance in the middle of the night to another hospital.”

That late evening phone call from Emily echoed in my head as I ran solo on my MRP run this afternoon. My sister, Emily has bipolar disorder and often calls me when she’s feeling down, usually at night.  It’s not a big deal; she just needs someone to talk to, she’s been through enough to know when she’s really in danger of hurting herself and will honestly admit it if there’s a danger.  I never imagined what it was.

I called my Dad this morning to see how he was doing.  After a procedure putting a stent into his heart to restore blood flow, he was doing better.  He told me that the ambulance zoomed the 100 miles to Green Bay in about half the time it takes him to drive.  With its sirens and flashing lights, he said he took the “express train” there.  An air of relief traveled two thousand miles to my end of the phone line.  Apparently, he takes the same approach to crisis as I do, “I’m gonna laugh, because if I don’t, I’m gonna cry.”

The truth is, I almost lost my daddy last night.  That’s all I could think about the entire run.  I hit my paces perfectly until mile 4.5.  The tears welled up in my eyes and I sat down in someone’s perfectly manicured yard and had a good long cry with my raspberry GU.  I’m not a dainty crier like you see in the movies, perfect tears cascading down their cheeks.  I’m the full out blubber kind.  I ooze just as much liquid from my nose and mouth as the tears that fall from my eyes.  I shake violently, hiccup, and it takes me a long time to collect myself.  

6.28mi, 51:18, 8:09/mi

I wiped my face, picked myself up and began running.  Again, I hit my splits, but they were harder.  By mile 6.25, I gave up.  Emotionally spent, I wanted nothing more than to just curl up and sleep.  I reset my watch and walked nearly four miles back to my house.  My chest was tight from the crying and I could barely bring myself to run, so I walked as I cried.  This is the lowest day I have had in a very long time.  I thought about the irony of this beautiful sunny day almost mocking my mood.  If only the day was completely dark and rainy, it would feel like Mother Nature was sympathizing with me rather than the opposite.

3.71mi, 38:23, 10:21/mi

“I called up my cousin this morning [who lives near the hospital].  He keeps bugging me about when I’m coming back into town, so I told him I was around, staying at a luxury hotel and he should stop by when he got a chance,” Dad replied.

I know it could have been a lot worse. It was a heart attack.  My sister’s school is five minutes from the hospital, so she’s around to keep my mom from having a meltdown.  I just hope this is a wakeup call for his bad habits and we can all joke about it more someday like we can about a lot of my cancer treatment stuff.

Oh and the power went out in my house this morning with a loud popping noise and a melted plastic smell. Four hundred dollars in repairs later, it appears we also have rats chewing through our wiring. 

Awesome day.  Just awesome.

Keep my family in your thoughts and prayers, alright?