Annie, may she rest in peace!

Friday was one of the worst days of my girlfriend’s life, as I saw it… Annie, one of her Golden Retriever’s took very ill. She had a tumor the size of a basketball, which was putting pressure on all her organs, and there was very little question of what options there were. This just weeks after an illness took the aged family cat, Palay! Not a good June for Shelley!

I met Annie (the dog) in 2004. I had just started dating Shelley and she had two dogs and a cat (Palay). If I have the facts right, Annie was the dog she kept after the divorce (Oliver went with her ex-husband). Shelley wanted Annie to have a companion and purchased the male Golden Retriever, Jackson. With two of the most diverse personalities, they provided many memories. Me not being a strong animal lover, they seemed attracted to me. I had some real bad issues with dogs as a kid and grew to resist getting attracted to an animal.

Annie and Jackson always seemed to sense that I was indifferent. They would always try to get my attention. Jackson aggressive like but Annie with her graying hair would just plop her head there and look at me. Just like she was always saying, please be my friend. I did just that. They grew on me and I learned to enjoy my visits and walks with them. Now it will be a walk of one and that will be hard at first.

After Annie was euthanized, the Vet did the best job ever helping with the pain we all felt. My son came and afterward he asked why I was crying. He said he has never seen me cry and knew my general approach to dogs. I explained, Annie was special and many times when Shelley was out of town or after my surgeries, Annie seemed to know what to do… She seemed to always approach me like a loving mother, not demanding anything but just wanting you to know she is there, always willing to make anything better. It is very painful to see her go but the right decision. So I, like any human, would have cried with that much sorrow, seeing what had become a dear part of my life, go away…

R.I.P. Annie, may you and Palay have a great time together in heaven! You were special to many!

Carry on…

I heard this and thought... this is like me!

Wow, what a day…

I decided to wash my car today. I start walking to the garage and I noticed the mail on the table. Ok, I am going to wash the car but first I need to go through the mail. So I lay the car keys down the desk and discard the junk mail after sorting out the bills and notice the trash is full. All right then, I will just put my bills on the desk and take the trash out. But since I am going to be near the mailbox anyway, I will pay the bills now. Where is the checkbook? Oh, there it is but only one check left… OK, the extra checks are in the file cabinet. Next to the file cabinet sits the Coke I was drinking.

I need to get those checks but I am going to put that Coke in the fridge to get it cold again. I head toward the kitchen and see my flowers need some water… I set the Coke on the counter and WOW, there are my glasses, I have been looking for them all morning so I better put them away first.

I fill the container with water and go to water the flowers. Oh no, some one left the TV remote in the kitchen! We will never think of looking in the kitchen when we want to watch TV tonight so I better put it in the living room. Meanwhile on the way into the living room I spill the water. I set the controls in the laundry room and get towels to clean up my spill. I get to the laundry room and see I have a pile of laundry and decide to start the laundry. Realizing I used all the laundry detergent, I realize I need to go to the store. Now where are those car keys?

Is this a disease or normal?

Carry on

What... me run Grandma's again? And Finish?

In 1985, I set a goal and last year I made that goal, well half the goal. I had a goal to run Grandma's and Twin Cities Marathon 25 years in a row. My 13th year at TCM, my entry got chewed up by the postal service and returned to me weeks after the race. Never got entered and quite frankly, the cold and lack of understanding from the TCM staff really upsets me, even today, I always suggest people look at some other friendlier race! Anyway, last year I finished 25 Grandma's. (Click to see the post) I was not ever going to do that race again.

This coupled with my knee surgery last July, my bike accident last July, stress at work and then another surgery in mid-may 2010, I never envisioned I would run Grandma's nor did I want to run it. Although, I am a father first in life and would go the the end of the world for my son. He wanted to run the race and wanted me to join him. I resisted feverishly. He continued to encourage me to consider it. Long story short, I entered.

Before I start the report, it was such a boost to see Wayne Nelson several times on the course... Really kepT me positive... And after seeing Lisa at Lake Street, I felt a wave of confidence. THANKS MUCH YOU TWO!

Well, as I said I would never do again, I started my 26th consecutive Grandma's Marathon. Let me preface by saying since last July, I have logged less than 20 running miles. I have over a 1,200 miles on the bike and another large amount of walking miles, but so little running. I talked all week of there being no chance I would finish...

My son decided to run the first mile with me. A minimally impressive 12 minute mile with a HR of 130. I was pleased with how I felt... Then my son proceeded on his own to a 4:30 finish. I on the other hand, thought a good goal would be first 5 miles in 12:30 a mile or less, the next 5 miles 13 minute or less, and the same pattern to the end. This went well, for 16 miles then I started to feel a blister and cramps. I had been taking S-Caps and knew it was related to fatigue. So I decided, walk. Walk fast!!!

I was surprised I was clicking off 15:00 minutes mile walking but could only muster just over a 14 minute mile running. This was not long lived as every mile miles I dropped 10-15 seconds. By mile 22, I was at a 16 mile but a finish was in reach. I tried to jog but knew that was not a great idea. So I walked, and walked and walked. The miles clipped one after another.

My son came back and met me at mile 24 and I had a full boost of confidence. He stayed with me to Lake Street and then I got a second wind. The last two miles were in the 13-14 range and I FINISHED #26. Coming across the finish line, I cried. I cried because I never in my dreams though I would get past half way. I cried because my own son encouraged me to do the seemingly impossible. I cried because it was over.

I feel almost like I did after 77 miles of the ST 100 in 2007. My feet look the same. I have a baseball sized blister on the right foot and a smaller one on the left. But if that is the price I pay, tonight I am happy! I made my son proud, less than 5 weeks after Surgery that put me out of work for a few weeks. It is a great feeling when you finish something that seemed impossible...

Where does this take me? I do not know as I will have to see what the next two days are like, but I have one big smile on my face tonight, even though my foot is pretty painful!

Carry on my friends! Carry on!