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> More in the Perspective Series

Morning Commute

Context
Originally uploaded by Kitty LaRoux.

This morning I boarded the Q-train as usual at 7th Ave. in Brooklyn. I glanced down and noticed grass wrapped around each of the poles that run up the middle of the car - just little patches of wheat grass. It was lovely and unexpected and passengers smiled when they saw the grass. I noticed other people photographing and sketching it, and heard one woman comment that she wish she had coloured pencils with her.

When the train stopped at 14th St., there was an announcement of a brief delay so that one of the cars could be cleared because of vandalism. We gathered ourselves and shuffled off the train amidst quiet comments of "bummer" and "that sucks," and most of us continued our commutes on the R-train that had pulled in across the platform.

Twenty-Six Minutes

That's how long it took me to run 5km tonight. I know, I was shocked too! At the beginning of July I raced that distance and proudly clocked in at 29:20. That, my friends, is a vast improvement, and one of which I am quite proud! And while I have a reputation as a purveyor of baked goods and lover of all things orange, I am not known for my sub-9-minute miles.

Hilariously, as I entered my mile splits (8:24, 8:17, and 8:32, plus 0:52 for the last 0.1) I realized that running faster means you get to stop running sooner. And stopping running sooner means you get to eat ice cream sooner, which is really all the incentive I need.

Size Does Matter

About a month ago I was at Anthropologie browsing their delightful bits (holla Ali!) when I came across these little glasses that cost all of $3 or $4 each. I think they were meant to be juice glasses, but they looked like the perfect size to hold a tiny summer parfait. It worked out just fine, don't you think?


(I haven't been quite as ambitious as the lovely and talented Miss Amy, who's making her own frozen treats this year, but this store-bought variety is really delicious.)

Not Wishing It Was Over

Further to Saturday's post about feeling like a runner, tonight I went for a quickie around Prospect Park. Often when I run the park I find myself hoping it'll be over soon, dreading the North hill (situated at the very end of my run), and sometimes even pausing to walk a few steps because I'm bored/distracted/tired.

Tonight, though, I felt wonderful. I felt present and alive and strong. I smiled at the other runners and the cyclists and the people congregating in the meadow to watch a late-summer movie. I noticed a lone firefly in my path and several bats overhead, silhouetted in the sunset as it became twilight. I found myself hitting my stride on the hill, and when I reached the end, I sprinted home feeling almost euphoric and craving more.

In other words, I felt like a runner.

Reminder

Resemblance

A couple of sites I read linked to Yearbook Yourself today. I went through all the years and I have to tell you, my 1960 image's resemblance to my mom is startling. Mom, if you have a yearbook photo from when you were 16 I think we need to compare it with this:

An Even 14

This morning I laced up and met the TNTers (plus a rogue fellow from work who's training for the NYC Marathon and had decided to join us) at 7 a.m. to take advantage of another of Mayor Bloomberg's awesome ideas, Summer Streets. We started in Brooklyn and ran across the Manhattan Bridge, then covered most of the 7-mile closure of Park Ave., with a detour to go across the Queensborough Bridge and back.



Throughout the run I remarked at how great I felt, even after 14 miles, when I mostly stopped running because I had other things to do - not because I felt like I needed to stop. That feeling was new to me, that whole thing about liking running and maybe even being a runner.

Me? A runner? That's so weird.

I'll Tumbl 4 Ya

I'll be your baby
I'll be your score
I'll run the gun for you
And so much more

Slashfood'd!

Check it out, yo! My apricots picture (below, top right) was featured on Slashfood on Monday!

They were delicious, by the way - I'm going to make them again tonight.

Grillin' Like A Villian

1. Perfection, 2. Sunny Side Up, 3. Drizzled, 4. Bean & Tomato Salad

I'm not sure what the best part of having a backyard is, but having a grill is up there. Tonight for dinner I 'cued up a turkey burger and corn on the cob, and then tried my hand at grilling apricots for dessert. Delish. The sides are a bean & tomato salad (both of which I picked up at the farmers' market yesterday) and spicy mixed greens from a pot in the backyard. The basil in the salad is also homegrown. I love summer.

Love and Ice Cream

Two weeks ago I attended the wedding of my good friends Heather & Doug in Townshend, VT. This was my first trip to VT, though neither my first nor last tryst with the state's most notorious residents. God I love those guys.

Anyway, Heather & Doug asked me to take a few photos for them and I uploaded them to Flickr last night (with minimal processing; learning Lightroom is on my to-do list).

View On Black

Rickrolled

While discussing a mix-tape competition at lunch today, the subject of Rickrolling came up. I sheepishly confessed that in high school I'd been a huge fan of Rick Astley and knew all the words to "Never Gonna Give You Up" (plus others, like the classic "Together Forever").

One of my co-workers looked at me incredulously and said, "You're the only person I know who knew who Rick Astley was before Rickrolling started."

I haven't felt this old since Lisa asked me who Cyndi Lauper was.

Victory!

Worth an Extra Bowl of Ice Cream

The half marathon this morning went really, really well. I finished in 2:15 - a few minutes longer than it took me last time, but I'm still thrilled with the results. Once again this year I got all choked up running through Times Square - TIMES SQUARE! I ran through TIMES SQUARE this morning! - and had to consciously regulate my breathing as I ran across 42nd St. to the West Side Highway.

This afternoon I napped and read the paper and did yoga, all things I would normally do on a Sunday afternoon. Then I ate two bowls of ice cream, because I ran 13.1 miles this morning.

A few months ago Sirrah! asked me if I considered myself a runner. "Nah," I scoffed, "I just run when I'm training for something. I'm not really a *runner*." This morning, however, I really felt like a runner, which was kind of strange and cool. I wonder if that feeling will stick around. I hope so.

8/4/08: Updated with my splits, for posterity:

Mile 1: 10:38
Mile 2: 10:42
Mile 3: 10:29
Mile 4: 9:55
Mile 5: 10:27
Mile 6: 10:20
Mile 7: 9:59
Miles 8 & 9: 20:14 (I forgot to split at Mile 8 in Times Square because I was so engrossed in the awesomeness!)
Mile 10: 10:30
Mile 11: 10:35
Mile 12: 10:31
Mile 13: 9:54
The last 0.1: 1:00

The Grey Shorts Incentive

This weekend I'm running the NYC Half Marathon. It's on Sunday. At 7 a.m. That's right, I'm going to start running 13.1 miles (that's 21.1 km for all you metric-lovahs) at 7 in the MORNING, and hopefully be finished before you wake up. In fact, if I'm quiet, I can slide right back into bed without you even noticing I was gone. I promise to shower first.

The half marathon also marks the halfway point in my training (holy smokes!) AND, with your help, I'll be well over halfway to my goal of raising $4500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

If you've been thinking about donating but then also thought, "What's in it for me?" well, friend, wonder no more. A few weeks ago I purchased a pair of grey shorts. At the time I wondered to myself, "Self, why don't I have any grey shorts? Only black. Weird, I think I'll go for it!" So I did. Then I ran 8 miles in them. Then I remembered why I don't have any grey shorts, and it has to do with sweat. Unflattering sweat. Still unclear? OK, it's unflattering CROTCH sweat.

If my fundraising tally hits $2500 before Sunday, I will run in grey shorts, AND post a post-race picture. It may not be quite as appealing as other fundraising ploys I've seen, but trust me that it's hilarious, and will likely cause me embarrassment. And aren't hilarity and embarrassment the two key tenets of the internets? Oh, and porn.

Donate here. Or here.

And here: http://pages.teamintraining.org/nyc/nikesf08/gilliang.

So Tempting

This is why I might have to get cable this fall.

Update: Joe E. Tata is joining the party, too. GOOD TIMES. I just hope Gabrielle Carteris is too busy looking after her grandchildren to sign on.

12 + 99 = 4

Or, Ambition + Temperature = Reality

I had grand plans to run home from work tonight, plans which were thwarted when, about 3 miles into my run, I realized that it was 99°F even along the waterfront, and that crossing the tourist-laden Brooklyn Bridge and running up fume-y Atlantic Avenue in that heat was really going to suck. So I cut my run short after 4 miles.

Fortunately I sweated enough to still feel hardcore.

Training update: I ran 10 miles last Saturday, a totally beautiful run starting and ending in Prospect Park, and across both the Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges. The weather that morning was perfect, and I felt great. Tuesday night I had another hill workout, which wasn't exactly *fun* but I (and my calves) survived.

Count to Four

Even if you've already seen this, watch it again. It's so happy-making.

Street Cred

Overheard in the men's room after tonight's Ani DiFranco concert:

"We made it, guys. We earned some major street cred." Pause. "Use it wisely."