Day Two - Here Comes The Pain?
Getting out of bed this morning was...difficult. My thigh muscles feel as though they have been tied in knots, my shins are sore and my feet ache. The first few steps to the bathroom were not graceful. I started wondering how I was going to possibly run today. Strangely I never considered blowing it off, I just tried to comprehend HOW I would make it happen.
My plan was to run a mile and a half downtown and then a mile and a half back up to my apartment. Easy enough, right? For non New Yorkers, 20 city blocks here (short blocks, mind you) translates roughly into a mile, so it's easy to keep track of your distance when running on the streets.
Being an egomaniac I decided to take a peak at the blog before I left and notice that G-Rocks had left me a comment saying that she wanted to run together today. A few short text messages later and we decided to meet at the South end of Central Park.
Aside from the soreness, of which there was plenty, the run was fairly uneventful. Two times around the lower loop. We did the first lap together and then split up for the second but finished at roughly the same time. After we stretched (we came the conclusion that if it hurts and makes you look like an idiot, you're probably stretching properly) we sat down and talked for a bit over Gatorade (me), water and coffee (both her). We talked for about and hour about nothing inparticular. It was my favorite part of this so far. I don't see G-Rocks face to face all that often and while I'm sure we'll be sick of the sight of eachother by January, right now I feel very lucky to be sharing this with her.
I hobbled home around 11:00AM (the stairs leading down the subway are a cruel joke) and when I got back to my apartment I noticed a new message on my cell. It was one of the producers from work asking me to give him a ring today. I almost didn't phone back. It's Sunday, couldn't whatever it was wait until tomorrow? Clearly it wasn't THAT important if he hadn't told me what the call was about in the message. I ended up calling back. He told me that one of our colleagues lost his son to a tragic drowning accident yesterday.
I am in shock. Total and complete shock. I felt and feel terrible for my co-worker's loss. He's someone that I would consider a friend and trying to comprehend what he is going through is impossible. I just shake my head when I think about it, knowing how much he loves his kids and how they are the center of his life. There is never anything to say in situations like this - or if there is, I can never find the words.
As cliche as it sounds, something like this brings things into sharp focus. I've made phone calls today just to hear peoples' voices. The pile of work waiting for me on my desk tomorrow doesn't seem as terrible. Most of all, my sore legs don't seem quite as much of a tragedy as they did a few hours ago.
I hate that it takes things like this to shake me out of the self centered rutts I tend to work myself into. I hate that this feeling of appreciation for life will dull with time and I will allow myself to be caught up with the little things all over again. More than all of that though, I just feel sad that my friend is in so much pain tonight.
Part of joining Team In Training was always going to be learning an appreciation for the fact that while all of this running may be difficult, it's something that I CAN do while others can only wish they could. That thought was resting in the back of my mind, shaken to life whenever one of the Honor Teammates (runners in remission or currently fighting cancer) would speak to us as a group, but otherwise dormant. This has brought that to the forefront.
I thought I was in pain when I woke up this morning. Now I realize that my legs are just sore.
Thanks for reading. More later...
DAY 2
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 3.4
TOTAL MILEAGE: 8.5
G-Rocks' Blog: http://girlyoubetterrun.blogspot.com
Team In Training's Site: www.teamintraining.com
My plan was to run a mile and a half downtown and then a mile and a half back up to my apartment. Easy enough, right? For non New Yorkers, 20 city blocks here (short blocks, mind you) translates roughly into a mile, so it's easy to keep track of your distance when running on the streets.
Being an egomaniac I decided to take a peak at the blog before I left and notice that G-Rocks had left me a comment saying that she wanted to run together today. A few short text messages later and we decided to meet at the South end of Central Park.
Aside from the soreness, of which there was plenty, the run was fairly uneventful. Two times around the lower loop. We did the first lap together and then split up for the second but finished at roughly the same time. After we stretched (we came the conclusion that if it hurts and makes you look like an idiot, you're probably stretching properly) we sat down and talked for a bit over Gatorade (me), water and coffee (both her). We talked for about and hour about nothing inparticular. It was my favorite part of this so far. I don't see G-Rocks face to face all that often and while I'm sure we'll be sick of the sight of eachother by January, right now I feel very lucky to be sharing this with her.
I hobbled home around 11:00AM (the stairs leading down the subway are a cruel joke) and when I got back to my apartment I noticed a new message on my cell. It was one of the producers from work asking me to give him a ring today. I almost didn't phone back. It's Sunday, couldn't whatever it was wait until tomorrow? Clearly it wasn't THAT important if he hadn't told me what the call was about in the message. I ended up calling back. He told me that one of our colleagues lost his son to a tragic drowning accident yesterday.
I am in shock. Total and complete shock. I felt and feel terrible for my co-worker's loss. He's someone that I would consider a friend and trying to comprehend what he is going through is impossible. I just shake my head when I think about it, knowing how much he loves his kids and how they are the center of his life. There is never anything to say in situations like this - or if there is, I can never find the words.
As cliche as it sounds, something like this brings things into sharp focus. I've made phone calls today just to hear peoples' voices. The pile of work waiting for me on my desk tomorrow doesn't seem as terrible. Most of all, my sore legs don't seem quite as much of a tragedy as they did a few hours ago.
I hate that it takes things like this to shake me out of the self centered rutts I tend to work myself into. I hate that this feeling of appreciation for life will dull with time and I will allow myself to be caught up with the little things all over again. More than all of that though, I just feel sad that my friend is in so much pain tonight.
Part of joining Team In Training was always going to be learning an appreciation for the fact that while all of this running may be difficult, it's something that I CAN do while others can only wish they could. That thought was resting in the back of my mind, shaken to life whenever one of the Honor Teammates (runners in remission or currently fighting cancer) would speak to us as a group, but otherwise dormant. This has brought that to the forefront.
I thought I was in pain when I woke up this morning. Now I realize that my legs are just sore.
Thanks for reading. More later...
DAY 2
TODAY'S MILEAGE: 3.4
TOTAL MILEAGE: 8.5
G-Rocks' Blog: http://girlyoubetterrun.blogspot.com
Team In Training's Site: www.teamintraining.com
posted by Demps at 6:18 PM
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