Ode to Uncle Tom

My uncle Tom was a police officer & a Vietnam vet. As a kid, I was afraid of him. He was tough. He was the guy who was always throwing the kids in the pool at family parties. I didn't like getting thrown in the pool so I would stay away from him. He told it like it was regardless of the consequences. It didn't matter if he hurt your feelings.

But, he also had a soft side. He was a dad. He had 3 sons. He took them to a camp they had in the Adirondacks. They would fish and hunt and come home with tons of stories. That's what I remember most about my uncle...he was always telling stories.

He was the guy that got my brother jobs as a teenager. My uncle knew everyone because he was a cop. His job was "walking the beat." He got to know the business owners on his beat and they loved him. They felt safe because of him.

I remember when I was getting married that he insisted the guys get tuxes at his friend's shop which of course was on his beat. He got us a "deal."

I remember our families going on vacation together to the beach. Everyday he would bring a cooler filled with cans of Budweiser, a chair and a hat. When the cooler was empty, it was time to go home.

I've hardly seen him in the last few years. He retired from the police force and he and my aunt separated. The last time I saw him was at my cousin's wedding over a year ago. When I went up to him and said hello, he looked at me like he didn't recognize me. I told him who I was and his expression changed. His face softened and he said, "you get more beautiful everytime I see you." And, that's exactly what I loved about him. Far beneath the tough exterior, there was a soft heart. It wasn't always obvious, but I believe it was there.

Rest in peace, Uncle Tom..

1948 - 2010

20

Today is the first day of our vacation. I was scheduled to run my first 20 miler today, but there was no way I was doing it so far from home so I got it out of the way on Thursday. It was a very busy week..it always is right before you're going away, isn't it? The kids had dentist & orthodontist appointments. I had my annual physical. Plus, I was trying to cram 2 weeks of work into 2 days. My uncle died so I had a wake & funeral to attend..the list goes on & on..

But, nothing was going to stop me from getting this run done. I was fortunate enough to have Linda & Alyson volunteer to run portions of it with me. I did 2.5 miles out and back (4 times). So, every 5 miles I would pass by where I parked. I knew from when I did the 17 mile run that I was running 5 miles in just under an hour so that made it easy to time when they should get there.

Here's how it worked out. I did the first 5 miles by myself. I started at 7:40 a.m. Linda met me and ran the next 5 with me. Then, Alyson & her son, Conor showed up when I hit 10 miles. The 4 of us were off and running miles 10-15 . Linda turned back around 12 because her foot was bothering her, but we eventually met back up with her for the last mile.

I meant to put on body glide at the 10 mile mark, but forgot (big mistake). It wasn't until the 3 of us were running for about a mile that I felt the chaffing begin. Same place as last time - thighs. I asked Conor if he minded biking back to the car and getting the body glide for me. Thank goodness for him otherwise I woud've really been hurting even worse than I am.

Linda left when we hit 15 miles. We used the bathrooms and I filled up my handheld bottle with Gatorade. I even had 1/4 of my PB & J sandwich. I was eating Sharkies along the way, too. I was feeling really good. Alyson, Conor & I were off to finish the last 5. Alyson has been having problems with her hip so I wasn't sure she'd be able to run the whole 10 miles with me..she came pretty close. She did 9. something..just under 10. She was with me when I finished though and that was the best part. She did a good job of keeping the conversation going at the end and I needed that.

When I stopped running, I shouted "thank you, Jesus." And, I meant it! I was really glad to have Alyson there with me. My brain felt like absolute mush those last few miles. I couldn't even think of anything to think about. It was kinda weird. I wanted to focus on something, but it was like my brain was turned off. It made me wonder what I'll do running a whole marathon completely by myself. I know I can wear an iPod for some of it, but that gets old after awhile, too. I'll have to come up with something..

I have to mention that I texted my husband when I stopped at 15 miles. He was at work of course. I just wrote "15 done." He wrote "keep going." By the time he sent that I was at 17.5 so I replied "17.5..don't reply..i'll text you when i'm done." As I was basking in the glory of finishing 20 miles, in pulls a truck and Alyson says, "hey that looks like Larry's truck." Sure enough, it was him. He wanted to be there when I finished. Isn't that sweet? I thought that was really nice. I was running on a path very close to his work and it was lunchtime. I never expected him to be there, but was really touched that he was. I could never do any of this without his support.

So, all in all I have to say the run went just about as well as it could have although my knee was really hurting afterward. Not sure what that's all about. I think it was just tired, not really injured. I went home and took my first ever ice bath which was not fun at all, but I do believe it helped tremendously. My muscles really didn't feel sore at all. When I did the 17, I was pretty tight and sore for a few days. My legs feel so much better this time and I think it's from the ice bath. Plus, we were in the car for 8+ hours yesterday and even that didn't bother me.

Today is Saturday and I'm on vacation. I'm not going to run today. I think I need a few days of rest..I might do 3 tomorrow. We'll see.

Today I'm only doing one thing...going to the beach :)

Respect the Distance

Today will be the third day of temps in the 90's. With the heat index it feels like over 100. Definitely not a good time for the a/c to break down. Yeah.

I want to talk about the 14 miler that I did 2 weeks ago. It was the hardest run to date. I am doing the Galloway beginner plan (to finish). The longest distance I had run prior was the half marathon distance. I really wasn't worried about the actual distance because I had been building up to it. I was stressing a little bit about the course. It's hard to find out a course that's not too hilly. Then, I had to figure out where to plant water/gatorade. Suddenly, the weather was an issue (possible thunderstorms). Plus, I had to do the run on a Thursday rather than my normal Saturday because I was going out of town...which meant the kids were home since school was out. What I'm trying to say is there were a lot of things to worry about.

I was happy to wake up that morning and see that it was not raining or thundering/lightning. Phew. I drove around the course I had mapped out on Map My Run to drop the drinks and realized that this one section was extremely hilly (a road I had never been down before) so I decided we had to change the course around at the last minute. Not good because I had to estimate the miles and we ended up having to add on at the end which really messes with my head.

With all that said, what I really should've been worried about was the heat and humidity which I didn't give much thought to (stupid). I was drenched with sweat only a few miles into the run which is not normal for me. I don't sweat very much for some reason. I think it was around 9 miles that I realized I had some chaffing action going on in the thigh area. It wasn't long before I was trying to run while holding my shorts up above that area (didn't work). I only had chaffing one other time and it was years ago, but I do remember that it was also very humid that time.
By the last mile, I was so ready to be done that I stopped taking the walk breaks and practically sprinted to the end. My friend, Linda that was running with me just completely stopped at mile 13 (she's dealing with some plantar fasciaitis). When I finished, I backtracked to try to find her. By that time the temp had to be in the mid 80's. We were both hurting. Because we had to do so much adding on, we were probably a good half mile from my house when we finished. I had some weird cramping at the very top of my calves (never had that before). It did go away after a little while, but it was kind of strange.

I felt like garbage for the rest of the day. Up until that point, I had felt GREAT after doing my long runs using Galloway. This time was a completely different story. I was starting to get the headache that has become normal for me after a really long run. I knew I should eat something, but had no appetite. Looking back, I think part of why I felt so bad was because I was a little dehydrated. Even though we drank along the way, I don't think it was enough for the temps & humidity we were dealing with. Plus, I didn't bring any sort of nutrition..I usually at least have sport beans or Sharkies. I don't know what I was thinking not to bring anything. So stupid of me.

So, this Saturday is the next long run. 17 miles. I'm very nervous about it. I know I have to go get some body glide and beans. Maybe even bring a sandwich or something. We are going to a bike trail which is flat so that should help. I'm taking all the necessary precautions this time. I think that 14 miler was a good wake up call..you always hear "respect the distance" and I didn't do that. I took it for granted. I won't make that mistake again.