Tales of the Ordinary Days

Post-run cheers on a sunny day in July a year ago. The reason for celebration ultimately turned into a bust. But the celebration of a friendship and being at each other's side every step of the way is real. Garrett refers to my running friends as my gal pals. We wake at the crack of dawn to run, cutting it up through the morning darkness. 5:30 is our meet time. And depending on the meeting point and travel time involved, our average alarm wake-up call is 5:15 a.m. "So what did you and your gal pals talk about this morning?" is a typical Garrett question. I then brief my curious husband on our specific subjects over the approximate 55 minutes of run time together. They generally include analysis of our life while rehashing events from our last run and humor in our daily musings. We certainly don't take ourselves too seriously. But we equally take very seriously our role in being each other's accountability partners; the most influential personal boar...

Garrett thinks it's funny that I close my eyes when I kiss him. I never thought this was odd. But then again, with eyes closed, how would one know the normal technique? Now that we're married, I will try it his way. Eyes wide opened in married life. Yep, we are married. Tied the knot. Husband and wife. The ceremony has been performed and the cake eaten. Guests were warmly welcomed and the reception hall filled with wedding cheer until close. Garrett and I found ourselves home at the end of the night, reflecting as a married couple. Our marriage ceremony and celebration really were heartfelt and beautiful. We couldn't have asked for more. That being said, it really has been a whirlwind the last fifteen days as I quickly planned a wedding. The goal was family, friends, and simplicity. Mission accomplished. It all started with a surprise engagement ring from Garrett in early December. We discussed getting married in a quiet ceremony on the Vail mountains sometime afte...

Chicago Marathon 2005 My dear friend, Kristi, and I have run together for over fifteen years. About ten years ago, at the coaxing of our other running friend, Angy, we joined a larger group of more competitive runners. This new group was comprised of a wide range of ages, motivations for running, and eclectic personalities; a nice way of saying people who run at 5:30 each morning couldn't possibly be normal. The varying runs and runners brought a new element of interest to Kristi and my routine and the change up was welcome. Rather than talks of kindergarten the potty-training, the runs quickly became all about logging in miles and tracking running paces. This was when running a marathon entered our radar screen and seemed like something we could actually accomplish.  Our logic was that we were logging in the training miles, so we should be up for running the distance. Kristi and I toyed with the idea of a marathon, but always fell back on the fact that w...

We thought we would end our road trip with a quiet day in Chicago. We were wrong. 40,000 runners flocked the city to complete the 36th annual marathon. Note that this number doesn't count those who came as onlookers or volunteers. And we hadn't a clue when we booked our trip. The tip came at the airport. As we waited for luggage, Garrett started up a conversation with a luggage attendant. The question posed was whether we were in town to run the marathon. Hmmmm... Obviously that was a bigger deal than the Husker game. After contemplating how to best change our Sunday plans to accommodate this new found news, we chose to take the L into the city and park between the airport and Downtown. Thank-you to the luggage attendant. Our rerouted road trip worked out perfectly. We made the two hour trek from West Layfayette and then after a short subway ride, we found ourselves in the heart of Chicago. And all while in the midst the mobs participating or enjoying the marathon. The...

A snapped pix before a stop for a train A walk in the park. A run down the lane. A ride on a country road. All great visuals and outdoor excursions. The bike ride is taking the lead for me in "favorite mode of exercise" category. Biking is great. I'm so glad I was reintroduced to it. In all honesty, reintroduced is an overstatement since my past biking life didn't include biking shorts, jerseys, or clipped shoes. My new days of riding are a much different experience than those of past (i.e. there is much more freedom in riding a bike without totting a toddler on the back). Thursday we went on a long bike ride. Our start to the Fourth of July holiday. Last year the Fourth riding group stretched to twelve. This year it was only five; including two riders whom I hadn't met before. With quick introductions by our mutual riding friends, our holiday excursion began. And it was a great ride, even though I was the sole female pulling up the rear. My riding comrade...

This picture isn't of me, by the way (weigh? oops...Freudian slip). But it is a picture of the type of anti-gravity treadmill I ran on today. Yes, I ran! And it was delightful. My last run was on February 21 on the Zorinsky trail following a snow storm. The trail wasn't plowed and I chose to rough it and plow through on my own. It was a beautiful afternoon. The only tracks that laid ahead of me were footprints of brave dogs and a few humans. I felt like such an adventurer that I took a picture to memorialize the run. Two hours later I boarded a plane to Denver and the day after that I blew my ACL. You know the rest of the story. I arrived at PT today greeted with the question "Do you want to get on the treadmill?" Sure! It was no ordinary treadmill. This one defied gravity. After putting on the special shorts that felt like a wet suit which zipped on to the large contraption, I was calibrated and ready to go. She set my weight to 75 pounds. So with the assi...

 Butch, our fearless leader, with his grandkids Butch was the leader of our running group. We called our group the "Early Morning Milers". Butch led and organized our morning runs which were different routes and mileages depending on the day. Butch sent a group e-mail providing these details. As our unanimously appointed leader, Butch didn't take his position lightly. We could count on Butch's weekly e-mail like clock work. If there was a change in the schedule or a special request, we ran it by Butch first or had Hell to pay. He was our running patriarch, which was an admirable position given that organizing us was like herding cats. We spanned a wide range of ages, with different motivations for running, and varying eclectic personalities. This is a nice way of saying people who run at 5:30 each morning couldn't possibly be normal. The varying runs and runners brought interest to our routine. Everyone had a story and we heard them all as we lo...