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It ain’t easy…

July 6th, 2009

I have a lifestyle that is different than most of the people I grew up with  and those who I hang out with on a regular basis.  This is the lifestyle of a runner… I go to sleep early some nights on the weekends to make sure that I can get up early for my long runs in the morning, I try to eat a balanced diet, and most importantly I don’t really drink.  If I have a glass of wine or two a week that would be a lot.  I have found that my life is surrounded by big drinkers… I never feel the need to drink in order to dance, or in order to do anything really…. it is not something that I have found myself missing.  I feel much better and healthier living this way…. but let me tell you it isn’t easy.

My decision to limit my alcohol consumption is frequently met with questions… questions designed to make me feel as if there is something wrong with me.  Not to mention the pressure from friends to drink… since they are drunk they feel that everyone around them should be also.  Why is it that when people make a decision like this, it is frowned upon?  Why does my not drinking upset people?  I am the person who always drives… I have the pleasure of dealing with all my friends acting obnoxious, behaving badly, and making fools of themselves while thinking that they are cooler than cool and that their actions are ok.  This is something that is not easy… I think I deserve a medal or something for this.

Its taken a few years for my family and friends to come to terms with this…. and though I am looked at a little strangely, and often am completely miserable by the end of a long night out with friends, I wouldn’t change things.  I have the pleasure of being in control of myself, of feeling strong and healthy, and of never being able to use the excuse “I was really drunk when I did that”…

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Cry baby…

June 15th, 2009

So I just back from my honeymoon last week and our flight home was a nice segue back into reality.  We had flown to our destination first class and were treated like royalty the entire duration of our stay… we could not have asked for better weather, food, drinks, or company.  What better way to equip for the stressers of work the next day than the most obnoxious flight home…

Lets begin with the woman sitting next to me…. her and her husband (6 foot 5 inches, 500 lbs about) had wanted to sit in first class but the airline “messed up” and they were now seated in coach.  Her husband in row 5 and her at the window seat next to me… although not as big as her husband, she was also not a small woman.  As her ass took up residence on half of my seat, I wondered how miserable and disgruntled she would be during the flight.  After exchanging some nasty words with the flight attendant, I didn’t think she was too bad…. fairly pleasant considering the circumstances.  Until it was time to deboard the plane… then she actually shoved me out of the seating area and into the aisle in an attempt to rush off the plane… unfortunately for her… there were still about 15 rows of people in front of us still waiting.  I was a little annoyed…. but… this was nothing compared to the family sitting in front of us…

Family of 4… Mom and Dad, daughters age 3 and 1…. daughter age 3 watching a DVD very loudly with no headset… it was no mystery that she was watching Sesame Street… I could hear Bert and Ernie and that damn Count droning on and on…. One—ah-ah-ah, Two—ah-ah-ah….. Meanwhile, daughter age 1 is crying… she has been crying since the moment they got on the plane and to my despair will cry until the minute we land.  About half way through the flight, 3 year old daughter starts to cry… Mommy decides that laughter is better than tears so to incite some laughter starts to tickle her daughter leading to the desired laughter… however this is that loud shrieking high pitched laughter that one emits when being tickled….

Now, pretend that you are on this plane for a minute…. the flight is 3 1/2 hours long…

When we landed, I was so happy to be home, I almost kissed the ground…. Parents, please drug your children before bringing them on plane rides if you know that they will be disruptive…. I love kids, but there is always a line somewhere…

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I think I’ll go to Boston…

April 30th, 2009

So, I am getting married in 24 days… and this weekend is my bachelorette party… when asked where I wanted to go for the weekend extravaganza, all I could say was “I think I’ll go to Boston”.  I absolutely love the city, and have already planned out where I am going to be running on Saturday morning while the other 7 girls are asleep (although if I do enough convincing I may be able to get 2 of my companions to do a shorter version of my planned run).  Vacationing becomes interesting once you become a runner… my plans always tend to revolve around when I can get a run in and where I may be able to run.  This is something I research for weeks before making my journey to whatever my destination is. 

Running is something that, once you start doing it, becomes a part of your soul… it is something you can never do without… its part of your identity.  This is the first time in 2 years that I have not planned my vacations and events around and the races I would like to run, but am planning my running around my wedding and that of my cousin’s in August.  Spring events were off because I wouldn’t be able to commit enough time to training coming down to the wire… an event too early in the fall wouldn’t work because I would miss some of the most important long runs between my cousin’s shower, bachelorette and wedding… so that leaves just one race for me for this year!  Its not necessarily a race I was ecstatic about, not my first choice… but the circumstances of the important events in my life right now have led me to it…. the Philadelphia Marathon.  Now that I have been led to this race, I am getting very excited about it… its right before Thanksgiving, which makes eating a whole turkey that day acceptable… AND I may just run up the stairs of the museum and pretend to be Rocky, even though this isn’t a part of the actual race itself (it should be!)

Anyway… this brings me to a completely different point entirely dealing with the 2 cities mentioned above… Boston and Philly…. they get my vote for most angry/passionate sports fans, although Philly beats out Boston by leaps and bounds… who gets your vote?

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Was it a dream?

April 6th, 2009

Last night I had a dream that I was a little kid again and my brother and I were running around the house looking for our Easter eggs as part of our annual Easter egg hunt.  At the end we always got our Easter basket with this giant chocolate bunny and assorted goodies.  It got me thinking this morning about these traditions that we all have during the holidays, that have nothing to do with the real purpose or reason for the inception of the holiday.  Easter is a happy time for kids, filled with bunnies, marshmallow chicks, colored eggs, and lots of chocolate.  This is technically a morbid holiday, celebrating the death and resurrection of our religious leader… In other countries around the world, they re-enact the crucifixion at this time of year, but here…. no we eat chocolate!  It just really seems bizarre to me.   Who came up with adding a bunny and chocolate to this particular holiday?  I would like to meet this man…. its pure genius…

Same thing with Christmas!  Whose idea was it to bring a tree in the house and put lights on it to celebrate the birth of Jesus?  How did they come up with this idea?  What man came up with the idea of hanging mistletoe (besides one trying to get in the pants of whatever lady was nearby)?  These are things that make no real sense to me…. I have been pondering this all day, and I can’t come up with any type of answer that makes sense.  Maybe it came to them in a dream too…

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Posted in Dreams, World View

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If you’ve never stared off into the distance…

March 18th, 2009

…. then your life is a shame.  No one says it better than the Counting Crows.  Life is all about enjoying the small pleasantries, staring off into the distance and enjoying everything around you.  This is part of why I enjoy running so much, particularly training for and running Marathons.  Now, for those of you who run on treadmills only, you are truly missing out.  I can’t run on a treadmill… I need the feel of the wind, the smell of fresh cut grass, the sun beating down on me, and something in the distance that I can stare off into…. looking at a clock that is rolling the time second by second and a T.V playing “Flavor of Love” while on a treadmill in between a girl who has a face full of makeup and the most stylish workout clothes on, and Vinny the guido from Staten Island at Gold’s Gym, is not going to cut it. 

Every run I have done, even the ones I hate, have led me to some great scenes that I wouldn’t give up for the world.  There is nothing better than running along the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore and looking out at the beach and ocean, or running through Phoenix and Tempe Arizona while seeing mountains in the distance as you run down the highway, or the Washington Monument and Pentagon as you run through Washington D.C.   During the three marathons I have run, these are the sites I had the pleasure of seeing, as I stared off into the distance with 100 different things going through my mind. … Look at how amazing this is… I am doing really well, check out that pace… My leg is starting to hurt… What do I want to eat when I finish… I wonder what my dog is doing right now…. Where are the people cheering me on… a debate in my head over what my favorite Michael Jackson song is…. Despite all of this tangential thinking though, everything just seems so very clear.

On top of the amazing vistas I have seen running my marathons, I have seen amazing things in New Jersey that I would not have even known existed without my training runs.  My favorite runs have been over the George Washington Bridge looking out onto the water and the view of the city, Columbia Trails in High Bridge where you run along a trail with a river flowing beneath and beautiful signs of nature all around, and the Towpath in Piscatway between the canal and Raritan River. 

For those of you who have not taken to the streets for your daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly work out, you are truly missing out on the most beautiful sights you will lay your eyes on.  I tend to think that things are more beautiful, mainly because I am able to pay more attention to them, when I am running.  Its so easy to get lost in a sunset, the view of the beach, or the sound of the river below.  Now I am not telling everyone that they need to go out and run a marathon (although it wouldn’t be a bad idea), but I am suggesting that you live life, get outside and enjoy the scenery.

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Posted in Living in NJ, Running