Accidental vacation

Whew! I worked 14 hours today. I'm am a bit brain dead. The good news is I accidentally took a day off tomorrow! You see I have to "block off" my schedule at work far in advance because I get booked up about 2 months in advance. It makes planning difficult. Well, I was going to go out of town for a work conference this weekend and into next week, so I had blocked off tomorrow (which is actually Thursday which is actually TODAY now) through next week. At some point, I decided not to go, but I never "opened up" my schedule. (It was only last week that I booked the flight for the LV Marathon, so that really had nothing to do with anything; that's just a short overnight trip on the weekend.)

Well, I opened up my schedule for next week and I was able to fill those days up pretty good with patients, but I had completely forgot that I blocked off tomorrow (today - Thursday). Towards the end of the day today, I glanced at my schedule for tomorrow and....lo and behold...the whole day was BLANK! It took my a while to realize what I did, so I accidentally have the day off tomorrow. After the initial fright, I felt absolutely delighted. (I normally work 10-12 hour days Monday through Thursday, and I usually take Fridays off anyway.)

Now, I've got this long weekend to take care of all the things that need taking care of, which is a lot. Maybe I'll even sleep in! It'll be so nice to do that.

I've been talking with Leah about doing the Death Valley Marathon in February, so we'll work on that tomorrow too.

Thing is, my brother called me today and wants to drive out from Milwaukee to visit and help us with some of the things that need fixin' up around the house. He's thinking of coming next week to stay for awhile. I told him he could come on the condition he bring Farkus, his lab, and he got a chuckle out of that. He will let me know tomorrow if he can make the drive out this weekend. So, when I come back from Vegas Sunday night, he might already be here! Yippee! I can't wait to see him.

My brother, Jeff, is cool. He's my younger brother. I have an older brother too. We get along just fine too, but I have a special affection for my younger bro. He's a self-made guy. He, like me, "skipped" the end of high school, worked about 6 months for someone else, decided he didn't ever want to work FOR anybody ever again, and so he started his own business. His company is "Ultimate Finishes" and he calls himself an artist. He creates, well, faux finishes and murals and pretty much anything you want for design. He specializes in big places like country clubs and mall entries...stuff like that. He is fabulous at what he does. Here is one link to the "Breast Cancer Show House" in Wisconsin that he did. I wish it showed his work and not just listed it, but you gotta trust me, the guy's work...I mean art... is phenomenal.

This is the little brother who I can count on if I needed him in any way. He has even helped me when I was financially strapped. He's hit a couple of rough spots in his life recently and I was able to help him too. He knew to call me. It was hard for him to do. I am honored that he did and it confirms the often unspoken bond in our relationship.

This would be his first visit to our home in Washington if he can make it next week. I told him to get some chains for his tires to make it over the passes (he wants to drive out) but he said the snow doesn't bother him. Actually, he chuckled and said, "Pfft! If I could drive my little BMW across the country in the dead of winter without so much as a slip of a tire, I can make it there in my 4-wheel drive Xterra....'snot a problem, sis." He's got a great attitude.

I love my brother. I hope he comes to visit (with Farkus). Above is our picture at my wedding.

Homeless Runners

Here is an interesting and inspiring article from The Associated Press.

* * *

Homeless Runners Turning Lives Around

By TIM REYNOLDS
The Associated Press
Sunday, December 3, 2006; 2:33 PM


WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Rebecca Kelly used to run from her problems. Now, she runs in an effort to solve them. Kelly took her first drink at 14, soon entering the first of what would be many rehabilitation stints. She's been forced to live on the streets, once got kicked in the face by a male attacker, been completely broke more times than she cares to remember.

Now, the 31-year-old is part of a most unusual athletic club called The Home Team, a group of homeless people trying to turn their lives around through running. Three of their members finished 13.1 miles Sunday morning at the Marathon of the Palm Beaches in downtown West Palm Beach.

"It felt better. Absolutely better than I thought it would feel," Kelly said. "It wasn't even the moment crossing the line. It was just knowing that I was going to finish when I got to 10, 11 miles, knowing 'Hey, I trained for this. I deserve to feel good.' It was better than any drug I've ever done."

That's kind of the idea.

The concept _ taking people who are living in shelters and showing them how the discipline needed to become a marathon runner can apply to their regular lives _ is an unusual one. The Home Team's members all have jobs and are in rehab programs, vowing to stay clean and trying to get on their feet.

Each runner was approached a few months ago and asked if they wanted to begin training. Most immediately said yes.

"They had some Hawaiian Tropic girls at one of the water stations. I wasn't feeling any pain going to touch her hand," said Doug Scheer, 35, who's struggled with addictions to alcohol and painkillers and now lives in a tiny room at a shelter. "This is the most fun I've ever had."

Brent Ion felt the same way.

He's a longtime runner, a financial consultant involved in philanthropic projects with his wife, Suzanne. He usually spends part of each Wednesday at a place called Cafe Joshua, a restaurant unlike most others.

Homeless or shelter-dwelling individuals often meet there to eat, and they can receive job coaching, medical exams, even haircuts there. It has become an epicenter of sorts for The Home Team's program, and is where Ion sought out potential club members.

"I look at the best sellers list and half the time it's people trying to find religion and trying to find the meaning of life," Ion said. "This is it. This is where it's at. All the religions and all the things you can shoot for on a philosophical basis, it's all right here. It all ends up in the same place, helping people who need a hand."

Sponsors donated running attire and shoes to the team members, who often rose at 5 a.m. on Sundays for long training runs.

Johnathan Czerwinski, 26, doesn't hide that he hated those early wake-up calls.

He also doesn't hide the scars on both wrists, evidence of past failed suicide attempts that he was driven to because he couldn't shake his drug craving.

"Being part of this, I've got goals now," said Czerwinski, whose girlfriend gave birth to their first son three weeks ago. "I want to get a car. I want to get an apartment. This has taught me that everything comes step by step, not all at once. It's all a process."

Czerwinski finished 802nd in the men's half-marathon, crossing the line in 2 hours, 28 minutes, 58 seconds.

"He's changed now," said his girlfriend, Caitlin Aleskovsky, 20. "He has a sense of direction _ the right direction, for once."

The sun was just beginning to rise when the starter's gun fired at 6:30 a.m., but conditions _ 76 degrees, with the humidity making it feel a few degrees hotter _ were already brutal for the field of about 6,000 competitors.

Some couldn't finish. But none of The Home Team's three half-marathon entrants dropped out, drawing high praise from some of the elite runners in the field.

"It's phenomenal," said Bea Marie Altieri of Clermont, Fla., who was third in the women's half-marathon, 722 spots ahead of Kelly. "Running has the endorphins, that natural high. So for people who are a little down on their luck or have an addiction like alcohol or drugs or whatever, running is a perfect fit because it gives them a real goal."

And from that goal comes another endeavor _ running the whole marathon next year, something all three would like to do.

"I've always known, even when things were bad, that I'm a strong person," Kelly said. "This has just made me strive a little bit harder."

© 2006 The Associated Press

More winter running

Today, the four of us met at 8 am and ran the Hillby loop for another 9.5 miles. We were actually a little faster today than yesterday (not that any of us cares), but we stopped and took a couple of pictures: http://www.pbase.com/lbliss/winterroadrun

There. I'm ready for a marathon!

Winter running

I stuck to the roads today...though you'd never know they were roads. Lots of hard packed snow and ice. Made me nervous because my ankle doesn't like uneven terrain yet. We had a great run. 9.5 miles in 90 minutes. Not bad for the weather.

David, on the other hand, took the pup on the mountain. He got some great shots with his camera. You gotta check them out:

http://www.pbase.com/lbliss/tower/

Restraint? What restraint?

OK. So, I'm over the Houston Marathon debacle. It's all good. I will likely just pace David in to the finish, and of course, I will help my friends out in the medical tent.

I started looking at other marathons. It's been a long time since I've scoped for marathons to run. I used to do that a lot, but now usually just stick to ultramarathons. I've come to snobbishly think that it is a waste of time and money to travel to a marathon when I regularly do long runs that distance just on a weekend with friends. But, I am not running ultras now and I need the long training runs and it's a bit logistically difficult to run that distance now here in Spokane with all the snow and bitter cold temps. We still put in our 10-mile and 15-mile weekend runs, but I'm itching for longer. AND I'm itching for some shorts sleeves and sun!

So, my impulsive side took charge...and I scratched the itch. I signed up for the Las Vegas Marathon, which is, uh, next weekend.

I'm all registered and booked up for travel and lodging. I'll work on the finer details later this weekend. There can't be much more I have to do. This is just going to be a training run, a fun little 26.2 mile prance through the strip. There will be no racing (not that my marathon times could ever be mistaken at "race" times). The thon starts nice and early (6 am) so I can even get back to the hotel for a quick shower before checking out, and I'll head straight back to the airport. It's perfect. It's spontaneous. It's a little crazy, I admit. David is sitting this one out; he's the stable practical one. He just shakes his head and hugs me and tells me to have a good time. What a dear! I think it'll be a blast. I know a couple of people that will be there, so maybe I'll run into them too.

So, for now, I will run my longish run this weekend; there's no tapering for a marathon! At least, not when it is used as a training run. I'll let you know how it goes.

Must sleep now.

When all your luck is bad...

I am so mad at myself!

I wanted to have a goal race on which to set my sights. About a month ago, I picked the Houston Marathon. I chose that particular race because I needed to go to Houston anyway to meet with 2 colleagues of mine with whom I did research studies this past summer at Badwater and Western States. One doc is from Houston, the other from the east coast, and of course, I am from the west coast. So, Houston was the perfect place to meet for a few days in the middle of winter. So, I booked my flight and hotel room, and even convinced David to route his business trip home from California through Houston so he could run with me.

Thing is, I didn't register for the race. I waited. I didn't want to risk being disappointed again if I couldn't pull it together before the race. You see, it's happened 3 times already where I'd register for a race and hope... and then some other injury would flare up and I wouldn't be able to run, or in the last case, I was in a car accident, hit by an uninsured motorist. Just my luck.

So, since I'd been feeling not only hopeful but also confident that I could do the distance safely, I decided to register for this race. I repressed the thoughts that kept trying to sneak into my conscience that I was jinxing myself by signing up. I just didn't want to be disappointed again. That, of course, sucks more than not even entering.

So, I got on line this morning to register. Oh boy, I was feeling good! A little nervous, but still, good. And the website was unusually slow and quirky. So, I "refreshed" a couple of times... and then the big ass words "The Houston Marathon is now SOLD OUT but you can still register for the 5k" came up on the screen!!! What!? I couldn't believe it! I swear to the ultra gods that the 15,000th person JUST clicked "enter" as I logged onto the site! I was devastated!

I even called to beg for an entry -- maybe there was a mistake or something...(I've never even considered doing such a groveling thing before). Of course, they said no way. So, now I am going to Houston, my husband is also going (and of course, he registered for the race a month ago), and now I can't even run it! Argh.

I'm not sure what to do. I'm struggling between saying "Screw it all....I might as well give up this running thing" and "Grow up, Lisa, it's not that big a deal....just find another race and fork out some more money for travel and time off work, etc." Why could I not just register early with hopes that THIS time everything will work out? You see, I am a skeptic and I play it "safe" and I am now missing out because of it. There are times I wish I were optimistic. That said, I am also a realist, and truth is, though, it's really NOT a big deal. It's just a race. I'll get over it quick and figure out what to do.

So, maybe tomorrow I will look for another marathon. Maybe I won't. I don't know. It's too late tonight and I'm just too tired from work to make decisions.

So, whatever! That's about all I can say about my luck these days.

"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose." - Janis Joplin

You know when you start fantasizing about running again that you are truly coming back. I realize that there are times recently -- say, when a certain "running song" comes on the radio -- that I will picture myself running in that blissful zone. I can picture the repetitive strides, just clipping the miles away. I can remember what it's like to zen, which was something I had come to know, depend on, and ultimately, take for granted. For so many months, nearly the entire year, I simply could not imagine what it felt like to really run. I just couldn't do it. Sure, I tried, but it made me feel sick, an unsettling visceral emptiness. Now, I once again find my mind drifting toward those pleasant thoughts and feelings of running. I can see my feet glide over the road, feel my emotions soar, experience what I know it is like to run and run and run, seemingly forever. I can even see in my mind my upcoming races despite my tentative entries.

It is sooo good to be back to running, physically, mentally and spiritually. It is my religion. I was lost and am now again found.