A day late and a dollar short
The bad news is that I put off writing an entry this week - largely because I was busy feeling sorry for myself due to the fact that I wasn't able to run all week because of a bum wheel. I figured if I tried to post an entry, I'd just wind up whining about how much of a bummer it is not to be able to run, and how I'm worried because I'm supposed to coach at the Phoenix Rock 'n' Roll marathon next weekend, and I'm never going to be able to run again, and the world is spinning into an endless vortex of gloom and doom, and so on, and who wants to read (or write) that. Certainly not me. Therefore, since I'm now posting an entry, it would be reasonable to assume that something has changed (which would be correct - good job all of you who made this assumption). The first piece of good news is that my fellow coach, Lauren, actually commented about me not posting an entry, which means that at least one person out there is actually reading this thing (always good to know). The second piece of good news is that I think I've gotten over my gloominess, largely because I went to my TNT practice this morning, and even though I wasn't able to run with the group, I was still able to walk, and I wound up walking with a couple of teammates for several miles, including one whose husband is currently in chemo for melanoma, which was one of those, "What the heck do I have to complain about?" kind of deals for me. Seriously, what the heck do I have to complain about? Plus, if my leg doesn't clear up in the next week, the worst thing that happens is I wind up being the "sweeper" in the marathon - which means I'll have to walk really slow for a really long time carrying a bunch of mylar balloons. Hmm… not sure about that one. Guess I'll keep hoping I heal.
The cat's in the cradle and the bat's in the belfry
My son, Connor, as many of you already know - is somewhat unique. He's a good kid, but he's got some very definite quirks (we have no idea where these quirks came from - some recessive gene that's lurked in the shadows for generations, I'm sure). Along with all that, though, he is pretty funny at times. Like yesterday afternoon, when we were talking about when we would watch the movie "Batman Forever" which he had taped earlier in the week. First of all, you have to know that Connor is a complete Batmaniac. He's pretty much obsessed with Batman, and there are times when he'll spend (literally) several hours talking about nothing but Batman. Literally. I'm really not kidding (and yes, it is pretty darned annoying after awhile). If you know anything about the Batman movies, you probably already figured something was kind of quirky about Connor, seeing as how he taped "Batman Forever" which is the one starring Val Kilmer as Batman, Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face, Jim Carrey as The Riddler, and Nicole Kidman as the love interest for Batman/Bruce Wayne (plus, it's the one that introduces Robin - Chris O'Donnell - into the story). Anyway, the story itself is pretty ridiculous (something about an invention that sucks out people's brainwaves and makes The Riddler super-smart, although he never seems to actually get smarter even though he's sucking out the brainwaves of just about every person in Gotham City - which is a lot of people) and the acting is really, really bad (at times, Tommy Lee Jones actually seems like he's trying to out-overact Jim Carrey, which, if you think about it, is a pretty much like me trying to out-run the elite runners in a marathon). Anyhow, I had this whole "Batman Forever" thing going for awhile, as in, "Are you going to watch Batman Forever, Connor? Or are you going to watch Batman, forever? Or are you going to watch Batman Forever forever?) which was kind of funny - at least to me. Although I have to admit that after reading this over, it doesn't really seem very funny at all, so I guess it was one of those you-had-to-be-there deals. At some point, though, I got tired of that whole thing and asked Connor if he would like to watch "Batman Forever" with me that evening since his mom (who is also my wife) was going to the Y to swim and lift weights. I figured it would be a great bonding opportunity for a boy and his father - sitting on the couch watching a poorly written and terribly acted movie that the boy really, really likes and the dad (in the interest of full disclosure) also kind of likes, even though it's really poorly written and terribly acted. So I expected Connor to say something like, "Sure, Dad, that would be great!" Instead, he said, "Let me check my calendar." O-kay. Luckily, he was able to squeeze me in.
Rockin' and Rollin'
As mentioned earlier, today was our final team practice before the marathon next Sunday in Phoenix. As always, it's amazing to realize how far people have come in the past five months. We have runners and walkers of all abilities and experience levels, and quite a few of them started, pretty much, from scratch. In addition to putting in all those hours of training, they've also raised tens of thousands of dollars for cancer research and support. When we get to the event, we'll join up with team members from all over the country, and when all is said and done, we will have raised tens of millions of dollars. We'll walk/run across a large portion of Phoenix, and after the last walker has stumbled across the finish line, we'll pack up our gear and head back to the hotel for a well-deserved rest. And then, just a couple of days later, quite a few of us will start the whole process over with a new group of athletes who will train for marathons/half-marathons in Nashville, San Diego and Seattle. For many of us, the beat does go on.
All right, it's just about time for me to go watch the Wildcats take on the Beavers, so until next time (which may not be till after the marathon) may your good news balance out your bad, may your movies enlighten and entertain, and may your rock continue to roll.
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