It's been 19 long days since my last post. Not 19 long days for the reader because I doubt not having my blog to read made anyone's day any longer than usual, but 19 long days for me. Let me retract that before I swallow my toes. It's been 19 days since my last post. 15 of them were long. Four of them were in the Bahamas and they were glorious.
I am able to update now thanks to the U.S. Open. That's right. Tennis is affording me the chance to open up a blank blog page and ramble about what's happened since August 24th. Today was supposed to be the big day. It was the date on all of the promos. It was a date that's mere mentioning made butterflies flutter around my stomach. WBTV was to launch it's 4pm newscast this afternoon, a project that has been the cause of many sleepless nights, lunchless days and tear-filled evenings since it was first handed to me several months ago. But, last night it rained in New York City. So, instead at 4pm today, WBTV will be airing the final match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. I'll be doing laundry.
It's sort of an "I told you so" moment for me. Before leaving last Friday, I mentioned the possibility of this pre-emption to my bosses, but they laughed at me. Then, after sitting out the annual Charlotte Running Club beer mile last night in fear of catching a hangover, I found my prophesy had come true.
As I said, the Bahamas was (were? - It's only one country, but apparently multiple Bahamas. Not sure which conjugation is best used here) glorious. Thanks for asking! When I go on vacation, I like seeing the sites, taking in the culture, talking to the locals. That's not really an option at a place that's sole purpose is to be a get-away for Americans. That forces you to relax. Lauren and I spent the entire four days lounging on the beach, reading, swimming, running and gasp -- WATCHING TV! We watched the entire broadcast of the Emmys! That's not even a show I'd watch if we were home. I won't bore you with the tale of our one bad restaurant experience (think bad fish, cash only and terrible service) because it's only a tiny blemish on what was the perfect vacation. Perfect weather. Perfect timing. Delicious daiquiris and the best possible company.
I'm knees deep in the specific phase of my training for the Richmond Marathon. Thus far, it's gone quite well. The first two workouts, a cut down run on the track and a 10 mile tempo, were spot on. The tempo is especially notable, because I don't think I am exaggerating when I say it was the best workout I've had since I started training hard again. Paul and I ran 10.5 miles with a pretty solid group around Huntersville before starting the tempo portion of the run. Then, we switched out shoes, took some fuel and took off. Initially, I thought it might be a struggle to keep the pace below 6:00. We hit the first mile at 5:40 and I thought that might be the beginning of my death sentence. But as we clicked off mile after mile, I realized I might make it through this thing, and it might be a darn good run. We ended up finishing the tempo in 58 minutes flat which is an average of 5:48 per mile. Certainly can't complain about that. Nathan circled back with bananas and Gatorade which were much needed. He's also responsible for the photo of Paul and I on Old Statesville Road.
I was supposed to be on the Blue Ridge Relay team this weekend, but a scheduling issue, which I won't elaborate on here, is forcing me to sit it out. I'm beyond disappointed, but know my team will do great. I'm trying to see the positives. No stinky vans. No sore legs. No bear attacks. Instead, I'll be running the Davidson half as a training run.
Now, it's off for a little run around Charlotte. I have to make for an unhealthy weekend of Greek Food, fried chicken, pizza and ice cream.
