In the blink of an eye, we find ourselves two weeks away from Labor Day. How did this happen? Where did all that time go? One minute we were celebrating our entry into the race, and the next we're at the height of our training. From here on out, we're told that we are to build the distance we run for the next two months, starting with 16 miles last Saturday. Sixteen miles!! Sixteen miles is farther than I'm generally willing to drive, let alone run. But with the marathon being 26.2 miles and all, it's a good thing we've got great coaches and a great team to push us forward as we approach November.
Well, none of the Turtles actually went running with the Team last Saturday... we meant to, we really did. But some big changes have been a-brewing here at the Myrtle Avenue Mansion, and we are taking some time off as we find ourselves at a crossroads.
Yen, having left her beloved position as an AmeriCorps VISTA, will be starting her graduate studies in International Public Health at Columbia this fall. She is the first to leave the nest for the remainder of the summer, and is now back in Texas with her family.
LoAnn is also leaving her old VISTA position behind, and will be starting a new job at the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital in September. Her and her visiting brother, Ben, will be going back to Minnesota tomorrow to spend some quality time with the family as well.
Jac is preparing herself for her move to the sexy state of Florida at the end of September. Having spent years away, she's feeling the urge to be closer to family and friends, and is looking forward to the sunshine and beaches.
Nini is packing as we speak, and is leaving in two days for her move to Los Angeles. She'll be starting her next trimester of school at Yo San University in Venice, and has plans to grow up one day, hopefully some time in the near future.
Let's take a moment to acknowledge the accomplishments of these fine individuals, and celebrate change. Change is good!
So for the next couple of weeks you might not hear from us. Don't be alarmed! We're still here! The same forces that brought us together from the four corners are now sending us on our way back out into the world: Lo in Minnesota, Yen in Texas, Nini in Cali, and Jac holding down the fort in New York.
The party continues in September, so stay tuned!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Monday, August 6, 2007
Countdown: 89 Days
The excitement builds as we count down to the date of the marathon. We've been training hard, attending thrice-weekly workouts with the team at Central Park whenever possible. Other times we must fill in the gaps of our training schedule on our own, either on a treadmill or through the city streets. Despite the hard work and constant effort, it's hard to believe that the race is really less than three months away.
The marathon is less than three months away!?!
Yikes.
After hearing stories of people passing out at finish lines, pissing and soiling themselves, and having blisters and chaffing sores on every imaginable surface of their bodies, I have to wonder whether or not I'll actually make it. It makes me nervous, but excited nonetheless. Especially when I meet up with my other team members who have done it before, and are living proof that you can run 26.2 miles without keeling over and dying.
So the excitement builds, and the pressure heightens, and the need for reassurance exponentially increases.
Our first fundraising deadline is fast approaching in 10 days. We are looking to have a collaborative $5,000 in donations by August 15th, and are working nearly around the clock to meet our deadline. If you've considered donating before, and have been waiting for the right moment to inspire you, now's the time!
And if you know anyone with lots of expendable cash that they don't know what to do with, send them our link!
The marathon is less than three months away!?!
Yikes.
After hearing stories of people passing out at finish lines, pissing and soiling themselves, and having blisters and chaffing sores on every imaginable surface of their bodies, I have to wonder whether or not I'll actually make it. It makes me nervous, but excited nonetheless. Especially when I meet up with my other team members who have done it before, and are living proof that you can run 26.2 miles without keeling over and dying.
So the excitement builds, and the pressure heightens, and the need for reassurance exponentially increases.
Our first fundraising deadline is fast approaching in 10 days. We are looking to have a collaborative $5,000 in donations by August 15th, and are working nearly around the clock to meet our deadline. If you've considered donating before, and have been waiting for the right moment to inspire you, now's the time!
And if you know anyone with lots of expendable cash that they don't know what to do with, send them our link!
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Mighty Mouse strikes again!
Yen is the best!She came in number 5,993 of over 14,000 runners today in Nike's NYC Half Marathon. The race wound through Central Park, past Times Square, down the Westside Highway, and ended in Battery Park. Her computed finish time was 2 hours and 6 minutes!
The winner of the race, Haile Gebrselassie, ran the race in under an hour, clocking in at 59 minutes and 24 seconds!! Whoa Jeebus!!
A brief interview with our beloved Turtle:
nini: Can you describe for us what you were feeling at the starting gate this morning at 5:00 am?
Yen: At first, I was really excited, but then after having to wait in the corrals for over 45 minutes... I kind of felt like a horse. Then it was like, "let us go already!"
nini: Can you give us a highlight and lowlight of your experience?
Yen: The highlight was hearing the crowds, and their roaring cheers, as we approached 57th and 7th Avenue, as we were coming out of the park. We could hear them while we were still inside, and it was so exciting! The low was definitely the four mile stretch towards the end on the Westside Highway. It was really boring. It was really crazy in the end when a lot of people started keeling over, falling off to the side, surrounded by medics... one of the top three guys were taken to the hospital!
nini: Whoa! Are you serious?!
Yen: Yeah! I mean, it was crazy! I saw at least two or three [people]... Wait, another highlight was high-fiving Coach Frank by the finish line, the last 100 meters or so. It was so endearing... like an unspoken moment.
nini: How do you feel now, that you've accomplished the impossible?
Yen: I can't wait for the marathon! It was really inspiring. I can't wait! Hopefully we'll have more of a cheering section then. - (the rest of the Turtles were home asleep... cause we're all douche bags... but we did make it up to her by decorating the door and cooking brunch!)
nini: So how does it feel to be number 5,993?
Yen: Well, I wish I was number one, but I'm gonna save that for the marathon.
nini: You will always be a champ in our book!
Congratulations, Yen!!!
Saturday, August 4, 2007
You are Great!
My sore back is a testament to the fact that Habibi Lounge was a complete success! Dance, dance, and more dance!!! Thanks so much for coming out and partying with us on Thursday night. We really appreciate it!
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Why we do what we do
Training for a marathon is a difficult thing. You've got to run a good 30+ miles a week to stay on top of your game, not to mention practicing running up hills, and down hills, and picking up your pace towards the end, and practicing how to eat and drink while you're at it. It gets tricky. At times it's downright discouraging, especially on a hot, humid, New York summer day... in the city... when it's 100 degrees in the shade with humidity... and no breeze... the concrete seemingly absorbs, reflects, and radiates the heat of the sun simultaneously. I've been told that there is a temperature at which even flies are too hot to lazily hover about, and resort to just sitting around instead. Sometimes I wish I were a fly.
Besides the temperature, there's the smog in the air; the constant flow of automobile traffic making it unpleasant if not virtually impossible to train in the streets. The emissions mixing with the other fine smells of the city is some kind of awful. Sometimes, on my way across bridges, where the cars bottleneck and the pollution stagnates along with them, the air is so thick that it hits me like a sucker punch to the chest, and my throat starts to itch and my eyes start to sting. It's that bad. On a hot day especially. The repetitious pounding of the pavement does no good for the knees either, so you've got to find your way to a park with some packed earth of some sort just so you can run and breath at the same time.
Then you've got yourself to contend with. I know after a long, hard day of work and school, the last thing I look forward to is running another 6 miles on top of rushing to and from places, up and down stairs, and in and out of buildings. It gets hard. It gets arduous. It gets harrowing.
The mental fatigue coupled with the physical exhaustion of simply surviving on the day to day in the city is enough to acquiesce to resting at home all nights of the week and whenever possible; forget about having a social life, really. Now imagine convincing yourself that at the end of the day, all you really want to do is strap on your shoes and go for a nice long run.
What is this all for? Why are the four of us fabulous fine women subjecting ourselves to this kind of self-torture? Besides generating excitement simply by being a feat on its own, running the marathon for charity has been, thus far, a really enlightening experience. Fund raising has proven to be a far more daunting task than the running itself. We've thought about dropping out at times, but then we think about what we're doing it for, and it all makes sense again.
Did you know that more than 43 percent of New York City children are overweight or obese? That's nearly half of all kids in NYC. That puts them at risk for early onset of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses that undermine their quality of life and that, nationally, leads to health-care costs in excess of $100 billion annually.
Also, the student-teacher ratios for physical education in New York City elementary schools are estimated to be 730 to 1. That's ridiculous. Can you imagine having PE with 730 kids? That would be one GIANT dodgeball game.
Two out of every five New York City public schools offer no fitness activities at all. I used to tutor a girl in middle school whose fancy schmancy uptown private school had no gym of its own, and shared one with several other schools, allowing the students to be there once a week, requiring transportation to and from the facilities. Sometimes, when she forgot her swimsuit or her sneakers, she didn't have to go. If her school was inadequate in providing physical education, imagine the multitude of other schools in NYC that don't have the benefit of financial support.
That's where Team for Kids comes in and provides schools and other youth organizations with running programs that gives kids something to do. Gets 'em active. Gives 'em a sense of belonging to a community. Gets 'em to set goals and work towards achieving them. Having them learn by doing, by running, thereby making them aware of their own health and how to be an active participant in their physical well-being.
I know that I've benefited immensely by running for Team for Kids. It's made me think about my own limitations, and the limitlessness of what one can do with the right amount of desire and encouragement.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support in this overwhelming endeavor! Big hugs and sloppy wet kisses!
Besides the temperature, there's the smog in the air; the constant flow of automobile traffic making it unpleasant if not virtually impossible to train in the streets. The emissions mixing with the other fine smells of the city is some kind of awful. Sometimes, on my way across bridges, where the cars bottleneck and the pollution stagnates along with them, the air is so thick that it hits me like a sucker punch to the chest, and my throat starts to itch and my eyes start to sting. It's that bad. On a hot day especially. The repetitious pounding of the pavement does no good for the knees either, so you've got to find your way to a park with some packed earth of some sort just so you can run and breath at the same time.
Then you've got yourself to contend with. I know after a long, hard day of work and school, the last thing I look forward to is running another 6 miles on top of rushing to and from places, up and down stairs, and in and out of buildings. It gets hard. It gets arduous. It gets harrowing.
The mental fatigue coupled with the physical exhaustion of simply surviving on the day to day in the city is enough to acquiesce to resting at home all nights of the week and whenever possible; forget about having a social life, really. Now imagine convincing yourself that at the end of the day, all you really want to do is strap on your shoes and go for a nice long run.
What is this all for? Why are the four of us fabulous fine women subjecting ourselves to this kind of self-torture? Besides generating excitement simply by being a feat on its own, running the marathon for charity has been, thus far, a really enlightening experience. Fund raising has proven to be a far more daunting task than the running itself. We've thought about dropping out at times, but then we think about what we're doing it for, and it all makes sense again.
Did you know that more than 43 percent of New York City children are overweight or obese? That's nearly half of all kids in NYC. That puts them at risk for early onset of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other chronic illnesses that undermine their quality of life and that, nationally, leads to health-care costs in excess of $100 billion annually.
Also, the student-teacher ratios for physical education in New York City elementary schools are estimated to be 730 to 1. That's ridiculous. Can you imagine having PE with 730 kids? That would be one GIANT dodgeball game.
Two out of every five New York City public schools offer no fitness activities at all. I used to tutor a girl in middle school whose fancy schmancy uptown private school had no gym of its own, and shared one with several other schools, allowing the students to be there once a week, requiring transportation to and from the facilities. Sometimes, when she forgot her swimsuit or her sneakers, she didn't have to go. If her school was inadequate in providing physical education, imagine the multitude of other schools in NYC that don't have the benefit of financial support.
That's where Team for Kids comes in and provides schools and other youth organizations with running programs that gives kids something to do. Gets 'em active. Gives 'em a sense of belonging to a community. Gets 'em to set goals and work towards achieving them. Having them learn by doing, by running, thereby making them aware of their own health and how to be an active participant in their physical well-being.
I know that I've benefited immensely by running for Team for Kids. It's made me think about my own limitations, and the limitlessness of what one can do with the right amount of desire and encouragement.
Thanks to all of you for your continued support in this overwhelming endeavor! Big hugs and sloppy wet kisses!
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