Personal Day #2

1. So, last weekend’s marathon was a rough one. The weather was crazy hot for Buffalo. A little over two weeks prior to the marathon, there were actual snow flurries. The day of the marathon, it was 75 degrees at the start, 85(!) degrees at the end, and the humidity ranged from 60-70% or higher. Optimal marathon temperatures are between 40-55 degrees with low humidity. I have never been so uncomfortable in my life. From mile 14 on, I had to play mind games with myself to keep from quitting. I was >this close< to my first DNF, but I was determined to get through it even if I had to walk. All told, I walked for about 30 seconds. Then, I got mad at myself and put one foot in front of the other until I crossed the finish line in 4:06:48 which was 16 minutes slower than I trained for during this training cycle.

Buffalo did an amazing job keeping everyone safe. They had extra fluids, medical services, and they asked everyone along the route to put out sprinklers and ice for us. I put ice in my hat and ran through every sprinkler I could.

Despite being a little disappointed overall, the race did yield my favorite running picture to date. If you want to know how I feel about running, this photo says it all:

I know I look a little slimy and gross, but it was less than .2 from the finish line. I hope you will all give me a pass. Oddly, I looked decent in a lot of the photos at this race. I find that funny since I felt like death warmed over most of the time.

2. The yard is exploding with flowers. It feels like something different blooms every other day or so. The flowerbeds here are a disaster, though. I keep pulling the weeds, but nothing seems to look better. I want to get some nice dark mulch for the front beds. I think it will make them look neater.

3. We have a lamppost in the front yard right by the street. It was looking pretty terrible.

There is a funny story about this lamppost. We have a bunch of light switches in the house that do not seem to attach to any lights. I have tried to figure out which lights they operate, but so far I am not making much progress. About a year ago, I was convinced that one of them must be the switch to this outdoor lamp. I assumed that the bulb was burned out, so I went out to change it. Looking inside, I could see that there was no bulb at all. I carefully dissembled the top, and when I reached in to try to screw in a new bulb, I discovered that this lamp is an old-fashioned gas lamp. I felt so silly that I did not mention it to Andy until a few months later. When I finally admitted what I had done, Andy said, “Oh yeah. I did that too.” We both tried to put a modern light bulb in an 1800s gas lamp. I think the funniest part is that we hid our mistake from each other, but we both made the same one.

I spent a couple of hours, removing the rust with naval jelly, spray painting the post, and planting begonias and alyssum around the base. Now it looks a lot better.

4. This weekend, Andy and I are attending a wedding. Have you ever had a friend who found a new love, and you thought to yourself, “Yep, This is going to work out great.” I am so happy for them. I lost a consistent running partner, but I gained a new friend, and that is so much better. I have two other friends that I believe belong together, and I am crossing my fingers that the timing is right someday and they find their way to each other. I assure you that I am not a meddler, and I had no hand in my running friends meeting each other, but if you are looking for a matchmaker, I will give it a shot. I am a big believer in love, and my gut almost always tells me the truth.

Have a great weekend, everyone.