At 7AM I left a cardboard box filled with water and Gatorade on my door step, at 7:15 Walt had wisked it away towards Wakefield where he would set up our water stop for the day at Wakefield High School. From there he took the first steps of our winter training session making his way back to Melrose by foot to meet us at Brueggers at 8AM. Waiting for him there were 27 runners, each having mentally or physically marked a day on their new 2009 calendars that they were about to begin preparing for. Be it the Derry 16 Miler in a few weeks, or a half marathon at Hampton Beach, Hyannis, New Bedford, Providence, or Boston, or a marathon in Boston, Providence, Maine, or Vermont, today we began the journey to achieving that goal.
Heading down Main St to the LynnFells 28 runners chattered about Christmas and New Years, the new wiis they’ve injured themselves using, their jobs or the lack of them, new babies, old injuries, and recoveries from marathons past (ask Andy Pate about his remus). Barry, Paul, Judi, and Jennifer led the way down Main St, greeted by Kelly who seemingly jumped from the bushes in front of her house right into the pack. As the leaders quickly disappearing into the bright sunshine along the LynnFells toward Saugus, Joe, Brian, Walt, and Ed tried to keep in close pursuit. As we turned left onto Main St in Saugus, Theresa and Joanne joined in our big pack from the J Pace parking lot as John, Beth, Kristen, Donna, and Jo-Ann turned off down Howard St to follow the 4.2 mile route. Nick, Ginny and I led the big pack as we cut through the cold wind in our faces through the hills to Farm St. Nick and I registered a 7mph on the school zone radar sign before heading into the water stop. There Liz was waiting for us to join in the second leg of the run. As we sipped some water and Gatorade runners streamed in to the stop, first Mike, Andy, and Carol , then in an instant Sue Worrall, Sue Clough, Nancy, Lois, Pam, Lauren and Barry Cossette, Joanne, and Kelly.  Theresa, not used to the Sunday morning 8AM schedule almost wandered by the stop in a half-sleepy daze but we caught her attention. Behind her Jose and Suzanne went by and turned onto Nahant St for a 7 mile run missing the water stop all together.
The second leg of the run felt warmer than the first, with the sun warming the air and the wind now at our backs we made our way along Water St to Main. I travelled along with Nick and Carol, as marathon experiences and lessons learned were discussed. We pushed our way towards Ed, and thanks to his short bathroom break we caught him as we made our way past Nahant St. Ed and I kept an ongoing conversation through the last miles as my legs tried ot interrupt to remind me we haven’t done this in a while. We past Walt coming from the opposite direction as we headed into Melrose and he returned to Wakefiled to end at his car. As downtown Melrose came into view so did Sue Clough as we ate into the lead she had gotten by taking Nahant St. We kept a steady pace in an attempt to catch her but couldn’t, finishing our run right behind her.
After the run we gathered on the sidewalk outside of Brueggers soaking in that familiar feeling of tired legs and worn out bodies. The first long run of 2009 was done and soon we were celebrating it with coffee, bagels, and lively conversation inside Brueggers. Congratulations to all 32 of you for taking the first steps to where ever you’re headed!
(Note: Due to the MRC Holiday Party on Januaury 10th, next week’s Sunday Long Run will actually be held Saturday Morning. Run hard in the morning, party hard that night, sleep in on Sunday!) Â
Good to see so many out there on week one. Lets hope for sunny days and the wind always at your back. I am cutting back on “Ski” days this year so hope to volunteer for some water stops. I have not run in three months but the good Dr. claims I am almost ready.
Remember in marathon training: It is like a part time job and there are no short cuts.
Don’t forget to touch the Clarence Demar stone on Main Street for good luck.
wait a minute… where are all the juicy comments about Pate’s journey to the Breast Center???
Great running with you all today! Great run, better than expected. Thanks Walt and Jim for water stop #1 of the season.
It was so great to get out there and run today with such a large group. Lively and exciting conversations make the runs go so much easier. Somehow the talks always center around food. In particular today was Indian spiced foods. (Pates’ new favorite). After mentioning the lingering effects of the spices on my system, Mikes’ advice was to not eat it at least three weeks before a long run. Consuming just before would enable your fellow running mates to smell you at least three miles out! I think that’s good advice for anyone training for a half or a full marathon, too! Thanks for getting things started again, Jim.
I was so touched by Pate’s Christmas miracle about the fish, how did I miss the steamy and smelly stuff? Good to be back at it, thanks Jim and Walt.
Ok, Andy Pate told us all about his bout with a stress fracture of the pubic bone. He explained that this is an unusual injury for a man, in fact it most commonly hits females in the military, which is discussed in this article: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3912/is_199905/ai_n8829719. After contemplating what he and women in the military could possibly have in common I suggested that he should try not to wear government issue high heel shoes so often.
Andy then went on to describe his need to get a bone density scan as part of his prognosis and this was done at the Breast Center at the hospital closest to him, up in New Hampshire. Upon arrival at the hospital he found no clues to where the Breast Center was and was forced to ask around. The thought of quiet Andy, in his booming New York accented voice kinda way, asking people where he could find the Breast Center elicited a chuckle from every runner listening.
The good news is Andy’s all healed and had a nice strong run today, bringing with him many entertaining stories. So Pate, there is a system to off-the-record talks, if you tell a story you don’t wish not to have repeated in the recap you just raise you arm.
Pate, glad to see your doing better!!
Jim,
Thanks for putting together another great Long Run program!!
Im already looking forward to Saturday!!
Thanks to Jim for organizing and Walt for the water stop. It was good to get 2009 off to a good start.
Trust me Andy, raise your hand!
Thanks to everyone who ran with me yesterday. Glad to be a part of this great group!
Hey, when you’re are away fro a long time there are lots of stories to tell! One of the more interesting ones I heard was Lois explaining how her husband got their wood stove to work their generator during the NH power outage. Who knew she was married to MacGyver?!