I am taking two weeks completely off with zero running. It’s the only right thing to do right now. Taking baby running steps is only taking me back a few more and getting me nowhere. Boston is for the most part not happening unless miraculously something happens and changes in the other direction.

Coach and I discussed this and decided to put it out of my mind and not attempt to make it up (right away) by running a different so soon. Step one is to get better and the next step is setting shorter-termed goals with shorter distances.

Boston is not completely out of my mind though and I didn’t tell my coach this.  Boston is a dream we all have as marathoners. I realized that I will hate every moment running Boston if I am not going to run it fast. Maybe you don’t agree but I will never forget the moment during LA when I stopped and how I felt as the slower pace groups passed me.  I wasn’t tired at all – I was trapped in this injured body and couldn’t do anything to change that. Heartbreaking.  I can’t imagine running Boston just to finish and still crack a smile and enjoy the amazing experience of being there. Everyone is telling me how positive I am – I don’t feel that way all the time. I have these up and down bouts of emotion that are driving me crazy. Like super crazy.  I will run Boston if I think it is safe and I am not injured…it is the only way.  So if I do, I do, and if I don’t then I don’t. It is not the end of the world (although it feels like it in some weird way).  I can always cancel my hotel, get a credit for my Virgin Airlines flight, sell my Redsox tix and sell or trade all the Boston gear that I already bought if necessary. That last part is funny and I will never buy race branded gear before I get to that starting line!  So if you are running Boston and I don’t, I have some nice Boston gear in a size small that I am willing to barter with. J

Anyway, for now get better. Then train for 5ks and 10ks. Get some PRs and then do some half marys. My next marathon will be in November. Well, I hope that I will be able to run a marathon in November. I am starting to learn that with marathons whether training for them or during the races themselves, are so unpredictable – anything can happen.

Sometimes I actually do think a little clearly during this whole fiasco and I do think that increasing those shorter distances will only improve my marathon time and maybe that is what I should have done first. Don’t know but I am up for it.  Don’t tell me I told you so. I am constantly beating myself up as it is trying to figure out what happened.

I am not gonna lie. I am so frustrated. I am in soooo much pain.  Something happened to me, don’t know when, don’t know how.  Seems like I might have a slipped disc or an issue with my sciatic. Not sure if that is good news compared to thinking I had some problem with my butt.  Whatever it is, it is one of the most painful things I have experienced!  Thankfully, I am started to feel better today – still in a lot of pain but walking with less of a limp.

Following the race on Sunday, I went back to the doctor (chiro) on Tuesday for some more adjustments and a lot of prodding to figure out where and the heck I really hurt. Oddly enough, I can’t quite pinpoint it.  We did some pretty intensive Active Release treatment, Class-4 Laser and Ultrasound and that left me quite exhausted.  The only real information I left with was to rest for a week.

In speaking to my coach I told her what was going on in my mind. For the most part, and in truth, I am ready to deal with the fact that I might or might not run Boston. Do I really, really care? No, not really.  I want this sub-3 and if Boston will delay that then I’d rather wait.  Our hopes are high, I am resting/recovering, trying not to eat the whole refrigerator and enjoy some long deserved time off.  More than anything I am frustrated. For one, I listened, learned and was patient and yet this had to happen right around showtime.  Right now I am not talking Boston, I am going no matter what, but I don’t want to talk about it too much and consume my mind with what-ifs.  Deep down though, I want it.

Anyway, enough about running. It is definitely not my life (although it does make it a little funner)!

So, I moved about a month ago to a new place and I haven’t really had time to settle into my new space. Yesterday I unpacked one of the last two boxes and I started thinking about my next project. I simply cannot not do anything, I have to keep busy and I have to have a plan or I will go crazy. Something to work on I know…  This past weekend I told my boyfriend that I wanted to refresh my Spanish speaking skills. I have a lot of friends that speak a lot of Spanish and I think it would be nice to converse with them in a language that I love and lost while studying Hebrew.  Now when I speak Spanish, I accidentally say certain things in Hebrew – all in the same sentence!  My friends are probably thinking, “That is not Spanish, what the heck is she saying!”  I don’t bother to mention it is another language…I probably should so they won’t think my Spanish is super horrible. HAHA. I am not fluent in Hebrew though – I know about 500-700 Hebrew words and phrases and my accent is pretty incredible.  One day I hope to know several languages, I find them so interesting. Anyway, I look forward to this – it’s also an excuse to bust out my note cards, markers, pens, and notebooks. I love all that stuff.

Besides that, I am going to continue to work on the running group logo/website and of course some sort of craft project.  I will keep you posted…I KNOW you are so interested in that. JK

Tuesday's surprise at Trader Joe's -- KUMQUATS! Yummmmm

Strawberries the size of my (man)hands! Score!

Not exactly Fun Dip and not too fun but this Israeli brand was way cute. Someone brought this to my office today in hopes to cheer me up.

What a crazy marathon!  I knew that going into the race there was a chance that I might have that pain that I had been complaining the week before the race.  I tried to stay positive but that could only get me so far.

I had so many crazy experiences in one race – it would take me forever to get it all out in this post so I will just get to the point.  First, I’d like to say thanks to everyone that encouraged me before/during/after the race.  This was by far one of the worst race experiences both mentally and physically. This makes the stress fracture pain seem like a joke.

The evening before the race my coach called me and told me not to attempt a 3-hour marathon dealing with these crazy forecasted weather conditions and the recent pains I had been experiencing. “No problem coach.” LOL The plan was to run sub-7 until the half and then pick up gradually. The sub-7 plan was perfect up until a little past the half – I felt like I was in great shape.  The pain in my hip/butt/back hurt from the first step and unfortunately I knew that it was a matter of how long I could endure it.

The morning weather conditions kind of threw me off a little. It was chilly, not too cold and I made a last minute decision to leave my warm Nike jacket in bag-check because I knew that on a whim I would throw it on the street when I felt a little too warm and I don’t really want to give up a jacket that I have held onto for 10 years.  Luckily a friend brought me a long sleeve top and a rain poncho to use and stay warm. I can’t thank her enough because looking back, the poncho was one of the only things that kept me semi-protected from the rain and wind.  Thanks Ashley! XO

The calm before the storm!

After the hill at 1^st and Grand, a lot of runners began to strip themselves of their warm clothes and ponchos which makes sense just getting over that hill and feeling a little heated. I also took of my poncho but I heard a guy say, “I’d hold on to that if I were you,” so I balled it up and tucked it into my waistband.  Smart move, good advice!  Around mile 5 it started pouring and I put it back on and never took it off again during the race.

Around mile 13 I decided that I needed to ease off the gas and walk to avoid any additional injuries but I couldn’t stop immediately (I have to admit). It was so humiliating to stop in front of cheering spectators – I felt like a total quitter. I slowed my pace for an additional 3 miles before I realized that I shouldn’t do that so I took my first walking step at around mile 17 just passed the Concern Foundation booth.  Immediately as I stopped, I let out a crybaby kind of cry and someone was there immediately to comfort me – my boyfriend. He was running 7:30 splits and was able to catch me as I fell off after 13.  He was very concerned and didn’t want to leave me. I sort of sucked in my cry and asked how he felt, he said he was feeling great so I told him to leave and chase that PR.  I later found out that he felt so bad and couldn’t get over leaving me. There was nothing he could have done for me at that point and I had no idea what was in store for me later.

Me and Nyron at mile 9 before things fell apart.

When I stopped, I really thought that a 10-mile walk wouldn’t be that bad but I soon realized that was not the case because I was not moving very well and the cold temperatures were making me completely stiff all over.  Once I hit Santa Monica near Century City, I was barely moving. I could barely shuffle and finally, I could barely walk.

Getting into the VA Hospital area, I realized that 5 miles would take me about 2.5 hours at the rate I was going and I literally stopped kneeled over and cried. I stopped three or four times and finally, upon realizing that the huge tent around the corner was NOT a medical tent, I thought I was going to hyperventilate. I was so cold and shivering – my jaw was about to lock, I had bitten the heck out of my tongue with my molars from all the chattering, my back was tightening up (lower back and in between my shoulders) when Jon Li from LA Roadrunners caught up to me and walked with me for what seemed like ¾’s of a mile.  He couldn’t have helped me at a more critical time, really.  I had nothing in me; I couldn’t see a way out of this disaster.  He helped push me forward and helped me get my breathing under control, literally walking me through breathing steps all the way to San Vicente. Before he left, I had to tell him that I was OK and that I would make it to the finish.  I can’t thank him enough. Thank you Jon!

The rain never died down and although I only had four miles by the time I was on San Vicente, I wasn’t really getting anywhere. I must have looked like a zombie. I could only put one foot right in front of the other, I didn’t look around, or ahead, I just looked down now stopping every 100 meters or so to regroup.  Around mile 22, I saw a Whole Foods market so I headed over there and got under the awning. I asked a spectator if I could use his phone and I called my boyfriend assuming he had finished and could rescue me.  I left the Whole Foods before I realized that could have bought a sweatshirt to try and stay warm. A little later I spotted a Lululemon and I was in a zone to get in that store. I asked a guy to help me get inside and I just handed the clerk my credit card and asked her to help get me something warm. I ended up leaving with a $106.00 sweatshirt and again was on my way.  I remember leaving excited and then immediately disappointed to find myself freezing again. I couldn’t believe that I made it that far without it!

My breaking point happened when I spotted a big mile marker realizing it was NOT mile 25 but mile 24! Oh no!  I was completely demoralized. Mentally I thought I could go the last 1.2 miles and everyone kept trying to encourage me by saying, “you can do it, you are almost there…” I heard it so much that I lost track of my distance and I knew that there was no way I could push at that slow pace for the remaining distance.  A woman had noticed me stopping and attempting to go again without much success and asked me to consider sitting in a cop car to get warm. As I finally agreed to this, some gentlemen approached the car and invited me into his home with his family. They had been watching the marathon all morning and by this time, the clock on my watch indicated that I had been out there for nearly 5 hours! Almost immediately after noticing this, the watch battery died.

Once inside, I was offered dry clothes, breakfast pizza, water, hot tea and coffee. I shyly said no to most offers as I felt I was intruding enough already.  Slowly but surely I started to relax and my nightmare turned into a very pleasant moment of appreciation from their generosity. They really saved my day. At that point, I was no longer upset or disappointed, I was so thankful.  It was a touching moment for me. I called my boyfriend again and waited for him and my friends to come get me. As I waited I enjoyed my coffee, watched part of Superman and was handed a laptop so I could read about the men’s winner who had ran an unbelievable record time.

Once I was picked up, the day continued with post race celebrations at the Viceroy hotel. It was nice to see Angel (Happy Birthday) and Adrian before my group settled down for the evening with nice food, drinks and better conversations. It was nice to be together again.

I can’t say thank you enough – I received so many emails, texts and voicemails yesterday and today. Shame on me for not posting or updating sooner but I felt like I was hit by a bus this morning when I woke up.  I shouldn’t have gone to work but I did and I think that helped get me through the day, staying focused and distracted. Thanks to Janese for bringing me a change of clothes including the blanket that was used as a sarong!

My workout scheduled for today was to walk for 20 minutes and managed to get in .68 miles.  Tomorrow I go back for PT with the chiropractor and I think I still have enough time for Boston.  Oddly enough, I am excited about LA Marathon next year after this year’s experience and running a smart half.  I really feel confident and less stressed about those hills. It wasn’t as bad as it was last year, assuming it was from staying reserved early in the race.

Click here for my Garmin splits.

Interesting quote from Wesley Korir after finishing the race:

Two-time defending champion Wesley Korir, who had set the race record of 2:08:24 in 2009, finished fourth in 2:13:23. He said his legs gave out at the 21st mile.

”First of all, I’d like to thank God that I’m still alive,” said Korir, smiling. “I thought it was the end of my life.”

Glad to know us “average” runners weren’t the only ones thinking this way!

Congratulations to Dom, Jen L., Jen F., Paul, Adrian, Angel, Ashley, Teresa, Maria and everyone else who finished and powered through!

I totally prepared for this photo ahead of time by wearing a yellow headband - can't you tell?

I can’t believe how crazy things seem to get!  I had a billion things to do today and I didn’t get any real food in me until around 3:00 pm – talk about feeling super aggravated!  The first stop was the expo to pick up my bib.  Dom and I quickly navigated around there rather quickly after picking up some LA Marathon gear before heading over to the USATF booth to renew my membership (I think being a member is a good way to support one of the sports I love).  We had to leave rather quickly because Dom needed to study for an exam and I still needed to see my doctor one last time before the race. We checked into the hotel and I left Dom to head to the Westside to see my doc.

Read the rest of this entry »

I can’t even describe what kind of day I had today. It was so bad on so many levels but at the end of the day I tried and tried to focus on being positive and here I am typing this without stress…YAY

Literally I woke up this morning barely able to walk. My left butt cheek felt like it was being kicked with every step I took. Talk about pain! I started the day knowing I had to chance being seen by my coach’s doctor with such short notice. I already had a back up plan of seeing another doctor if that didn’t come through. I really wanted to go to her coach since he works with a lot of athletes (he is a chiropractor).  It wasn’t until about 2 pm that he got back to me and told me I would have to meet him at his house for treatment.  Once there, he did several test and immediately found that my left foot and ankle were jammed and that the extreme pain I was feeling would need to be treated with with an Active Release massage. My left pelvis (just left to the sacrum) was not very mobile – kind of jammed too. That butt pain could possibly be the sciatic but my I was adjusted and I was also treated with a Class 4 laser and then taped.  I left feeling a little better but I have a lot of confidence in what he did and what he will do again on Sat. when I see him. I also know that I can’t control everything that is going on. Preparing for the best…and doing the least until race day.

Today I could finally get the carbs back in me so I did it at lunch because I was about to keel over with external pain and internal emotional roller coasters. It felt like I could not have one more thing weigh me down without puking, crying or both!  I sat at the table for lunch and I wasn’t hungry at all yet I knew I had to get some food in me so I forced the food down brown rice, breaded and fried salmon with a salad. Not sure if I ever felt down and out of energy from depletion (except during track when I was only able to run two of the 3 x 1 mile splits at 5:52 before deciding against the final one) and I don’t recall feeling the boost. I think all the distractions of pre-race jitters and then the pain completely removed any thoughts about it away from me. If you ask me if it was hard, the answer now would be no – it actually was the easiest part of these 20 weeks!

I have to say that I have so many supporters. I am so lucky!  I guess my jitters were a little too obvious yesterday because someone brought me a gift that looked like it had peaches in it and told me that it was supposed to be a post-race gift but it looked like I needed it much sooner.  It was a gift box from Whole Foods with all kinds of relaxing stuff that I should probably use ASAP.

Apparently I need to relax...just a little.

Oooh-la-la. Fancy.

Anyway, my BF came up to stay with me until the race to help me and I really appreciate and need it!  I am so lucky to be surrounded by all of you who constantly remind me that life gets in the way, running is not everything but yet you do everything to help make that running experience amazing as ever! THANKS AGAIN!

Two full more days of hope…

On my way to track practice, I couldn't help but notice all the signage for the marathon! It is going to be a zoo out here!

So this week I thought I would really worry about carb-depleting but that is not really bothering me too much.  I am surprised, really. Anyway, yesterday I had a track workout – I needed to run three one mile repeats at a pace faster than 6:00 per mile and I was only able to get through one. I think I may have been able to do it but mentally I couldn’t force myself to do it. I am really, really distracted and it is weighing me down.  After the workout I spoke to my coach and she told me that I really need to relax because worrying and stressing over this race will in turn exhaust me of valuable energy.  I also told her I wasn’t so sure I liked the idea of having V run with me for the first half to help keep me on pace. I don’t think I am ready for that just yet and I have my Garmin to keep me on track. I wouldn’t mind having someone for the second half of the race but oh well.  Luckily she was very understanding and told me it was completely up to me – this is MY race, whatever I want.  I will let her know by Friday but right now I don’t think I will have V run with me (even though that is a VERY nice gesture).  I felt really good after speaking to her and today I felt just fine. Sometimes a little pep talk is all you need.

This is the third day of this diet and I am not only staying away from carbs, I am staying away from most junk that I would normally eat like pastries, candy, Dr. Pepper, etc.  I think that is a good thing – sometimes I get carried away and eat so much crap and then make an excuse that I can do that since I run so many miles…BLAH BLAH.  Yesterday at track I was speaking to L and I told her that I can’t wait to eat carbs to that I could have a donut. She laughed and said that was actually fat and not a carb. We had a good laugh but I really can’t wait to have one! I am a donut fanatic!

Breakfast

Lunch

I am still deciding on what I am going to wear and a few more possibilities have crept in which now include a cute running skirt I picked up at Gap Body and the Concern Foundation (click here for more info) racing singlet. I didn’t really want to be branded but I may just pick these two items and be done with it already. I bought a pair of Nike and Mizuno shorts too and I have already ran in both and still wasn’t definite that I loved them enough to race in them.

I also have a new annoying pain in my left butt-cheek – surely related to the sore calf, etc. I believe it is my piriformis muscle. I think I am just really tense and need more stretching. I am going to get ANOTHER massage tomorrow and have that area worked on.  There will be a lot of foam rolling going on in my room later.  I wore a few Salonpas patches on my butt and I think it is really helping today.  Anyway, hopefully it will be OK and I will get to rest after LA for a bit which will be a big help too.

Excited to meet some friends at Buca Di Beppo on Friday so we can all share our racing experiences leading up to the race including any fears and excitement. It seems like we have been training forever and the day is FINALLY upon us!  It will be nice to know we are ALL going through this together. 

Lastly, I won’t be able to post my detailed workouts anymore on Dalymile but I will still be around and will still stay in touch. I will try to update my blog regularly and would be happy to let you know when a new one is posted.  If you want to be notified, please send me an email to trace@traceraces. Also, if you were following my training and are interested in hiring a coach, let me know. My coach is awesome and always available.

I want to look this happy after this year's race!

The countdown begins. It seems like that timer has been ticking in my head for quite some time and it is exhausting. I keep trying to analyze why I am such a freakazoid about this race and no matter what excuse I find I guess it is just because I expect a lot from me. I wouldn’t try for a 3:00:00 marathon in 2011 if I didn’t think I had it in me, I am just nervous. The biggest reason that I feel anxious about it unlike last year when I was doing the 12/12 is because I didn’t have any pressure and if I had a bad race, I could try again the next month. If I learned anything, I don’t want to run just any marathon anymore, they need to be pretty darn important to put my life and body on that schedule.  Besides doing LA and Boston in March and April, I won’t get near another until November (more to come about this later) but will instead work on my speed and try to get some quicker PRs in 10ks and 5ks.  I have yet to discuss this part with my coach but I am sure she will agree since she didn’t even want me to run Boston so close after LA. Boston was a go this year no matter what anyone said. I want this experience and I don’t know where I will want to be in 2012.

Today my coach and I more or less finalized my race day plans. I say more or less because I have THE plan (Plan A) and then I have Plan B and C. She was adamant about having other plans ready because she said you can’t every really predict race conditions.  My goal for 2011 is to break 3:00:00 but I don’t really know when and where it will happen.  In the reality of things, it is a big leap to jump from 3:16:16 to 2:59:59 so I have to be ready to do it or do it later this year.  Right now I also don’t think taking 8 seconds off 7:00 miles will be hard but that again is not really that easy when you start doing the math. With that said, I have been waiting to hear the verdict of what my racing plans will be and now I know. Plan A for the first half of the race will include 7:00 splits and try to make my move from there, picking it up gradually.  Gradually. This pace for the entire distance will put me at 3:03:00 so any amount of seconds per mile will get that time down even further.  Plan B and C I don’t even want to get into and I am not trying to think about them because I don’t want to immediately jump into another plan in the race when and if I start feeling bad.  I am afraid that when the going gets tough I might tell myself it is OK  to go there because in a way they are part of the plan. Must not go there unless I absolutely need to.  I will be doing my typical track workout warm-up which includes a two mile jog, specific drills and 6×100 strides to get my heart rate up.  I will also have my training partner run with me for the first half so I don’t have to think about my times or splits, I will just have to decide what to do once I am at the half. Additionally, knowing the dreadful course, especially at the beginning I asked what happens if 7:00 seems to fast? Basically it is up to me to slow down a little knowing I have a lot of time to make it up but I don’t like the sound of making up too much time. I have enjoyed almost all my previous marys because I trained at MRP and didn’t think they were too hard. I hope I say that after Sunday. Let’s see.

I know going into the race anything can happen and you can bet that no matter what happens, I will be proud of myself.  I can’t imagine anything worse than what happened at OC marathon last year and even that wasn’t so bad (pain and mental-wise).  Like most of you have said, trust your training, think positive and just go with it. Thank you for all your advice, support and motivation – I owe you a big thank you!

As I mentioned earlier, my calf spasm went away – woot woot! Unfortunately after my run my foot hurt like a mofo! I needed a foot adjustment bad – you know that feeling where your foot needs to pop but it won’t? That kind of pain.  I went to the chiropractor today and got adjusted. He immediately noticed my let was jammed and my left leg was having some major issues that he “fixed” by popping all kinds of stuff (neck, hip, feet). I also asked for Cold Laser Therapy which is just some red light that sends waves through the infected area and does something that I don’t entirely believe in.  At this point, I am willing to believe it to get through the week and on the starting line with positive thoughts.  Whatever works right?

I snapped this quick pic before the doc came in the room.

I am also almost through a complete day of carb depleting and in my opinion it hasn’t been a big deal. Today I ate two hard-boiled eggs, banana, a slice of Muenster cheese and coconut water (breakfast), Beef/veggie stir-fry (lunch), Fage yogurt, almonds (snacks), salmon and squash (dinner).  I am eating one apple, orange and yogurt a day for some sort of balance. I can also enjoy my Starbuck’s drink in the morning – thank goodness I asked about that instead of assuming I can’t have it! Happy Trace.  I just spent $100 on some random food that will help me get to Thursday when I can finally have carbs (brown rice), yay!  I am really loving that coconut water – it has more potassium than a banana and is a great electrolyte drink. I need to stay hydrated this week – super important.  It is quite possible that I don’t have that starving feeling because I am actually hydrating. Let’s see how I feel tomorrow at the track when I have to run 3×1 mile at 5:50 pace…hahah

Not bad at all! I thought it would be hard to skip the rice but it wasn't!

Nothing like sour cream tasting yogurt! This yogurt has tons of protein.

Speaking of money, I am spending way too much lately. I have gotten three massages in two weeks, got new shoes, spent over $100 on some running clothes that I may or may not wear on race day (not including the $150 I spent on the Boston gear), booked a hotel in my home town, spent $75 at the chiropractor and so much more on crap I can’t even list. Way to go Trace, good thing you work hard for your money!  Oh, but don’t think I don’t have that extra $100 tucked in my pocket for an LA Marathon jacket – that is a must. When I am 80 years old wearing it, I will feel so cool!

Anyway, time to think positive, time to relax and time to believe in myself.

XOXO,

Trace

Geez, I am on a roll with my blogging – let’s see how long I can keep this up? The truth is that I always have things to blog about but I get lazy and then the moment passes.

First of all, I have been experiencing a weird feeling on my left calf.  I didn’t think too much of it until yesterday when I noticed it was significantly more painful.  I iced last night, slept with compression socks and then iced again this morning but the pain was still there and I was really, really worried. I called my coach who immediately told me to get a deep tissue sports massage so I left work early to get worked on. The massage was sooo painful! Almost immediately I was told that it was a muscle spasm. We spent one full hour just working on my gastrocnemius muscle and it just wouldn’t let up. Of course I am all worried because the timing is so bad! My coach thinks I am dehydrated and depleted of minerals – she is probably right though because even though I am working my ass off with all this training, I am totally neglecting my normal diet. I don’t drink enough water and my bf is always telling me to drink more. Last week I had major headaches and my tongue felt really weird and dry and then I remembered that I hadn’t had much to drink over the past few days. Crazy huh? True. Also, I am putting in around 45 hours a week in at work and always short on time.  It is rare that I have anything decent for breakfast and dinner (lately anyway). I eat a good lunch but then I just fall asleep with an empty stomach.  Heck, when I eat at home, I do it standing up. Regardless of what is going on with my calf, my habits must change! I am going to try to prepare my meals on Sunday for the week ahead.  Let’s just hope this spasm thing goes away ASAP! I took today off and am going to rest tomorrow too. Fingers crossed!!!

OK…enough thinking about that! I finally got my Boston Marathon stuff! So excited! I assume I shouldn’t wear it until Boston – right? I am a little disappointed with the shorts, I ordered a small and they seem a little snug. I think I need to try them on again to make sure I am not crazy. Either way, the colors rock – lime green is one of my faves (behind grass green and then neon pink)!

Read the rest of this entry »

I was fortunate enough to meet my friend Adrian last year training with LA Roadrunners (LARR). Embarrassingly enough, I happened to be the one who blurted out loud, “What’s that?” while realizing simultaneously time that this thing I was referring to was actually a tether (shoestring) that was being used to guide Adrian, a blind runner during our run.  Oh man, I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. A few runners looked at me but didn’t say anything, knowing I realized the answer to my question.

I will be honest and say that this was not the only time I would want to crawl into that hole…like a few weeks ago at the track when I asked him why was wearing two different shoes.

Read the rest of this entry »