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November 12, 2007
When the East Coast Rules (and other thoughts)
I really can't tell you how much I love the fall. Every year something occurs that reminds me of this- the smell of the first lit fireplaces infiltrating the crisp air, the first morning when you can see your breath and, most notably, the appearance of orange against a newly wintering sky. First, it's pumpkins, then the leaves. It's so easy to forget about the beauty when you live in the city...that is, until you make your way to a park or a tree-populous street. But when the colors are alive and the woodstove scents hit you, you suddenly remember how wonderful fall can be.
After being rejected via lottery for three years straight, Alexis is finally eligible for the NYC marathon in 2008. I completely forgot to defer my slot this past year, which means that I am officially ineligible. There's no hope of me racking up enough races before January to get in, however I've decided to start getting into shape, too, if anything to help with Alexis' effort. So, as of two weeks ago, I began forcing myself to run in the morning and on weekends...and by mid-last week, I suddenly had the energy to rise at 5:50 (I think this was a major change in diet and some extra personal motivation).
My goal is to sustain a 20-mile week for the next month and a half, then increase to a 25-mile week...and keep that up until the summer, when I will just train for the marathon like I'm going to run it, even though my chances of getting in via lottery are slim. By June I hope to have run the nine races required for automatic entry in 2009, though I kind of hope by that point we might be thinking about expanding our family. But who knows. In the meantime, we're rocking the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day and I have signed myself up for most of the NY Road Runners races through the New Year.
Anyway, my weekend runs have taken me back to Prospect Park and Windsor Terrace, some of my favorite places in Brooklyn. On each long run I have passed the Special Tree- a maple that always turns this amazing gold and orange in the fall. After our runs on Sunday we took a bike ride and stopped to enjoy the Special Tree's foliage. Just standing there under the bows of color reminded me of how spectacular fall on the east coast is. It just made my heart swell with the amazing love for our environment. The brilliant gradients are so fleeting...but so wonderfully satisfying.
Posted by callalillie at November 12, 2007 5:23 PM | City Life , Running
Thats good news for Alexis. Can you jump the queue by running for a ? For London you have the lottery but lots of charities "buy" places, you then run for them by agreeing to raise a certain amount for their .
I restart running tonight - after 3 months of recovery from a cruciate ligament injury. I was up to about 30-35miles a week before that happened :(
Fall colours are great, i really need to get out of the city to enjoy them soon!
Posted by: discostu at November 12, 2007 9:17 AM
Yes, you can often run for . He never did that, though. I'm going to try my luck with the lottery...no matter what, it feels good to get back into running again! And to feel more awake from it.
Posted by: corie at November 12, 2007 10:41 AM
Expand the family?
Do you really think another cat is a good idea?
Posted by: Scoxxicoccus at November 13, 2007 9:37 AM
I really like this picture !
Posted by: g. at November 13, 2007 3:00 PM
