Back to Work...

Yes folks, it is that time of year when the fun and games are over and it is back to work for me. November 3rd was the official start of my training and I kicked it off in grand style by going to the gym. Ouch. All those muscle groups that have been dormant for the last several weeks were abruptly awoken by the end of the lifting session. Hello muscles, you are no longer in vacation mode, I need you again! I keep reminding myself that I am not out of shape, I am in off-season shape. ;-)

But allow me to digress for a moment while I try and recap the past couple weeks of my off-season.

Visit with the family:

For the last several years my family has gathered on the East Coast in October for what we call O-giving (traveling during Thanksgiving out to the East Coast sucks so we celebrate a month early). No tradition is spared - lots of good food - and new ones were started - running in some local foot race.

James and I had an uneventful trip out save one note worthy story... I had to book James's and my itineraries separately as I was staying on the East Coast for a week longer and this resulted in us being on the same flights to Hartford, CT but not seated together. On the leg from SFO to Charlotte, NC we asked the woman who was seated next to James if she would kindly switch seats with me so that he and I could sit next to each other. She looked at us and flatly said, "No". I explained that I too had a window seat and she asked where it was, I told her (it was in the back of the plane but whatever) and this time she said, "No way". WTF!? I was flabbergasted, who is that rude? Fortunately the guy sitting next to me was kind enough to switch with James and she got to sit next to rude lady.

Our trip to CT was great. We went apple picking with my sister, Anne and her kids, Clara and Eric, hung out family and ran in the Kent, CT annual Pumpkin Run. My sister won the women's overall, her husband, Jim, got 1st in his age group, James and I finished 2nd in our age group, and my brother finished 5th in his age group. Yeah, we are not a competitive family at all, eh? hahaha






I'm in a New York state of mind:

As James had to fly back to CA for work, I made a trip down to NYC by myself to spend some time with friends from CA who were running in the NYC marathon. Instead of being stuck in a hotel for a week, my friend Allie managed to secure us an apartment in the Bedford/Stuyvesant area of Brooklyn. It was a great set up as there was plenty of room for Allie, her husband and their son, Allie's parents, Stacy, who was also running the marathon, and myself. We were also about 6 blocks away from the subway, which allowed us to get around the city very easily.

The first few days in NY I think we must have walked around the whole island of Manhattan. Stacy had never been to NYC and Allie had a very ambitious agenda for us. We started by taking the subway into Grand Central Station, then headed off to Metropolitan Museum of Art, then Rockefeller Center where they had set up the ice skating rink already. Then it was to the craziness of Time Square where we were overwhelmed by throngs of New Yorkers and tourists. And that was only day ONE!!!

We toned down the t0-do-list as the focus was on keeping Allie and Stacy as rested for the marathon as possible. There motivation to run the marathon was spurred on by the loss of Pat Caurant in 2006 in a tragic cyclist vs. car accident. They ran Boston together last year in memory of him as well.
Stacy, me and Allie

Watching the marathon was awesome. To see tens of thousands of participants and even more spectator was awe inspiring and I was so proud of both Allie and Stacy for being part of it. Their determination and strength also motivated me to want to get back to training and ready for the 2009 season!