Off Week

TRY is NOT meeting at OLP this week! We will be back to the park next week and through til the middle of November.

For one week, instead, it's the traditional celebration after the Utica Boilermaker week, this year being generously hosted at Chez Berman on Onondaga Hill. Hopefully all of you know this, if not, please check out the Facebook event for details. (If you care and it's not viewable for you, please let me know.) Join us as we "flush away the BM":




For anybody learning about this for the first time, you can still join in, just let me know to expect you and I'll make sure Berms' knows then too. We've had some cancellations so there should be plenty of food to go round if some people were caught by surprise.

There are a lot of picture updates coming. Tons of fun Paige's Butterfly Run photos taken by the event photographers and from our multi-talented band-on-the-run member Steve S. In an embarrassment of riches, I've been putting off posting them because I know it is going to take a couple hours just to collate them and get them put together nicely.

From the Boilermaker we have the traditional finish line area shots of Team Beefers already available through their links but I'll grab them and make an album just for us as well. Then within a couple days the event photos will be available.

With that in mind, I'm ending this post now and will promise all sorts of photo fun "soon". The exact version of soon will depend on my whim.

A Hot One

It is supposed to be a hot one today, at least for this year, so it's just in time to help us acclimate a little in case the Boilermaker ends up being on a warm day. (Forecast for Sunday right now is looking reasonable though.)

Tonight we will do the normal place and time for TRY. It sounds like Duerr has a hall-pass so watch out, Liverpool!

Next week we will do our traditional post Boilermaker fun night and NOT be at the park. Please help remind me to announce it tonight for the fringe TRYers who don't read the posts because they usually aren't relevant for them.

We have a couple first time Boilermaker runners in our midst this year, plus my sister needs some guidance so I'm going to clean up the "TRY Boilermaker Parking and Event Meetup Guide" and post that in the next day or two. (I have to double check things by reading through what the actual Boilermaker is telling us to do this year for packet pick-up.)

Next week heads up: We'll be meeting at Berms' parents house. Since it's a further drive for almost everyone, you'll have the option of arriving starting at 5, with the group-ish run starting at 6. They have lovely grounds and a nice in-ground pool, so it'll be a pool night afterwards for anyone that wants a refreshing dip and perhaps there will be lawn games? Early arrivals could do the pool while they wait for the run time as well? I'll post again next week and ask for a rough head count so the amount of food can be planned out.

For drink: Beer and beverages will be provided and anyone attempting to bring in more will be shot on sight. Seriously, don't even start in with the Bermans about the New York Safe Act...it will not end well for you. (They both have the words to the second amendment and various gun tattoos!)  You can bring a post run sports drink if you need to, but anything else is all set.

For food: Burgers and hot dogs and buns will be provided. We are asking that others help with sides or desserts. You can chime in on next weeks post with specifics to avoid repeats. Please note that not everyone has to bring something - so don't feel obligated. If a few people do stuff there should be enough and I know it can be hard to have certain things when coming to a gathering right after work. The point is to come out and have fun!

Rainy June

Did you see the stories that we are in one of the top 5 rainiest June's in the Syracuse area? (Sitting at 4th at the start of today with a chance to move up.) Much better than fighting over water like they are in California though, right? This triggered a look back at the wettest, and somewhat deadly, June in Syracuse.

A big THANK YOU to Tim and Lindsay for a great TRY gathering on Friday night! I believe with kids and dogs that 20 "beings" attended? That is quite the get together for a random night in June. Thank you for being generous with your house and time. :-)

Today is forecast to be rain or storms all day, so a good chance of getting wet tonight. It's less than 2 weeks til the Boilermaker so could be a good time to hit up Faith Hill? Especially if people have not been getting any hilly runs in?

You married people know what I'm talking about here - sometimes it's just hard to "get in the mood" after doing the same thing over and over again. With the rainy, cool, weather it's not worth attempting a Thursday outing this week and there isn't much going on to write about from my beautiful mind this week.

BUT, Jill had a fun, different, event to share about. She is taking part in the "Anything That Rolls" event coming up on Sunday, July 19th. It appears to me that it will take place on the parkway itself (so basically the Corporate Challenge course) and is a non-competitive event (don't want to call it a "race") that supports AccessCNY (formerly was called "Enable and Transitional Living Services") as it raises money for services that support all sorts of disabilities.

Jill is requesting teammates for her "Tigger Rolls Too" team and while she didn't ask me to do this - I'm sure she'd welcome donations to either her or her team as well. Her priority is recruiting teammates to make the event more fun.

Stealing shamelessly from their event page:
"This annual event invites people of all ages and abilities to walk, ride, or roll with us down Onondaga Lake Parkway to support AccessCNY's services for individuals with developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, mental health issues and acquired brain injuries.

Bring your wheelchair, powerchair, bicycle, tricycle, unicycle, recumbent bike, roller skates, wagons, strollers, coat racks... anything goes! Travel as far as you'd like down our 3.5 mile route on Onondaga Lake Parkway. Stick around afterward for awards, games, photos, and fun!"

It's only $10 to join in (10 and under are free) and if you raise $50 or more you get a t-shirt. So, a really cheap option and something different to do. For people that need to see if the weather will cooperate, registration starts at 8:30 that day, "roll-out" is from 9:30-11:00 and the awards ceremony is at 11:15. (The event is centered at "Wegman's Landing" and the parkway itself will be closed, of course, for the 3 or so hours of the event.)

Fun Week and an Origin Story

Tuesday morning storms should give way to very pleasant summer weather in time for TRY. Normal time and place for our meet-up.

There are some fun things lined up for this week.Tuesday night and running are always fun, of course! Then we are attempting our first Thursday night field trip night of the summer, followed by an invite to a TRY friendly house party Friday night. (See Timmy's post on the FB page for details. He is asking for yes' by Wednesday for planning purposes, so please let him know by then.)

Thursday night: Since it is a "dollar night" at the Syracuse Chiefs and there are only a few of them throughout the season, I thought we could tie into that. The plan allows for running and baseball or just running, or just baseball.

Details:

Meet at 5:30 at the back end of the pedestrian bridge parking lot at Destiny Mall. From 5:35-6:30 do some sort of coordinated run along the Creekwalk. The group runs there in late November and December but this is great chance to actually run there in nice weather and even stop quickly to enjoy the view from the southern end of Onondaga Lake. Wrap up your run by 6:30 and call it a night. OR, make your way over to the baseball game (about 3/4 of a mile away?) and buy general admission tickets around about 6:50. (Slightly later if it's busy.) The baseball only option for people is to meet us over there or once inside the stadium. 

For baseball game part:

Parking is $5 or you can walk from street parking or Destiny mall for free (or carpool from our running location to save on number of people paying for parking). GA tickets are $5. Dollar Thursday means 1 dollar for hot dogs and sodas or 2 dollars for certain beers. We will find a space in the upper deck where we can safely stuff our faces and no one will notice our post running stink.

The education part:

(Nothing "important" from a TRY perspective from this point on, so continued reading is optional...but an interesting story for those who enjoy such things.)

Many of you run either the Boilermaker or other races and come across wheel chair runners...my interactions are almost always positive as the upright runners take time to cheer on the "chair" as they pass. (In the BM, it's almost always a slower one that gets caught by an average runner like me, and usually on a tough uphill section so the "chair" is usually struggling when I interact with them.) But how often do you get a chance to think about that specific racer and the path they've taken to get to that point? Well, that is why I thought this next story might strike a chord with some of you curious minded TRYers. A bunch of you were introduced to Desiree last month. (She was the woman in the racing wheel chair.) Some of you got to ask some question but here are some background for all of you...(Yes, I have her full permission to share her story.) She will hopefully be out at TRY another couple times this summer, so I think it's best if most of you know her story to better empathize with her and understand the ride she has been on.

Desiree was a fully able bodied athlete just over 3 years ago. Escalade and I met her during our first Tough Mudder adventure - the one in the Poconos in late April 2012. 

Through talking that weekend I learned she had done a few marathons and had even done fitness competitions! She was in better shape then I ever dreamed of being.

Through the magic of Facebook friendship I saw she did the Mountain Goat that year (here she is doing the kids run part with her 4ish year old son)

and another 5k or two, then not long after - in early June 2012, something weird happened. Long story short - she had a bulging disk in her neck that had bothered her some, but no big deal, right? Then one day, while simply standing up to get out of a folding chair at a school event for her child, the disc ruptured and she slumped back into her chair. From that very simple moment, she has not stood up on her own again. 

(Escalade and I visited her at St Joe's just before the RFL in 2012 - so we came bearing gifts of a cowbell to help her get the help she needed.)

Part of the disc that ruptured impinged on her spinal cord and it took hours and hours for a doctor to remove it. The long-term damage had been done and in the days and weeks following the surgery she would learn that the injury left her as a quadriplegic. There is a lot of uncertainty in spinal injuries so part of it is a waiting game to find out how the body responds and, of course, countless hours of physical therapy. Desiree is a tough bastard (physically and mentally) and has worked hard to get as much arm and hand function back as she can, but it's been a long, frustrating, process. Mentally, physically, and practically - her house had to be retro-fitted with ramps and accessible features just so she can make the most of it. She loves getting back out there and "running" with people like she used to. The simple training run she did with us led to a very happy Facebook updated. Then, that weekend she got out and did the Socci Stiletto Stampede 5K - and even got her picture in the online album at Syracuse.com. This was the day after Paige's and the several TRY shots we had in that album.

She's done a few road races since her injury and wants to do more. But it's difficult to get her and her chair to places to train or to race. (The chair is very light weight buy bulky, it takes two people to "load" her into it, and then there is the problem of finding people and timing it to get out and train or race. And she is not quite independent in the chair, so needs a race that allows her a running buddy to help her if she gets in trouble.) She, naturally, wishes this has never happened to her, but is determined to make the best of it and often has positive posts on her Facebook feed about what she has been able to do or advances in the medical community that may allow for a "miracle" cure - or at least advancement - someday? Here was a "shocking" photo when it showed up online...back on her feet through the miracle of a bracing system.

I remember we had to learn a bit about spinal cord injuries in high school, but most of what I know now I have learned over the last three years from either talking with her directly or mostly because of articles she posts online.

The location of a spinal cord injury determines what nerves are impacted and what mobility remains. Desiree's happens to be in the C5/6 vertebrae. (Cervical - therefore right near the top. Generally, the higher the injury on the spinal cord, the greater the degree of paralysis that results.) From what I remember hers is right at the point of impacting the arms and hands, or not, so there was a lot of wait and see what movement returned in the early days. At first she could barely use her hands but soon got to the point where she could close them enough to grab things and eventually use a wheel chair. I think to this day she still cannot make a fist though.

She corrected me in the past in defining her paralysis. She calls herself a quadriplegic, at which point, I naively asked: you can use your arms some, why aren't you considered a paraplegic? The answer is that she has limited use of her arms and since they are limited, the "quad" definition applies. Looking up references for this post, wikipedia actually redirects the entry for quad and puts it under "tetraplegia". You can read the details there, but it clearly states "partial, or total loss of use of all their limbs and torso". (Not that I doubted her answer, but it is a common misconception and I know I had it until knowing her.)

Something not directly related to her injury but very interesting from a humanity perspective is how her injury has taught her who her close friends really are. It turns out that there is nothing like a life altering event to show the quality, or lack thereof, of her family and friends. Some people surprise you in both directions and has been a cause of great joy and great misery for her as she found that out over the initial months and now years of being almost fully dependent on others. (Full disclosure - I haven't been that good of a friend to her myself - as I've been a bit busy the past three years. But we're all busy, so I do question myself and why I do not get in positions to help her out more? So, that is why I hope and plan to get her to TRY a few times this running season and help her get some training runs in so she is more prepared for any 5K's she may choose to do. And hopefully, at least once, I'll get to help her on race day because I think that would be very fascinating to see a race from that perspective. I like to see things from different angles and that definitely is a different angle.)

It is hard to know my audiences interest so I'm going to stop at this point. She has posted so much over the last three years that I have found interesting and sometimes fascinating, but I'm not sure if anyone else will? If people are curious, let me know, and I'll add some more unique references to future posts...including the surprising details to me that paralyzed people still can and do have a sex life. (She re-posts from a national blogger who has made it her life's mission to de-mystify some stereotypes that the world has about paralysis...the details have not come from Desiree's life directly.)

Thanks to anyone who has read to the end - let me (or Desiree) know if this has spurred any questions in your mind?

Challenging Times

It's Corporate Challenge week so that means that there is no room for TRY at the normal time. After consulting with a few of you, we have decided to aim for a 5:10 meet-up time with a 5:15 start up time for "early" TRY - look for familliar faces very close to where we usually meet - but perhaps a handful of steps further in the park if too many muggles are around. It's not all that early, but that 20 minutes difference makes a difference in hundreds and hundreds of more people getting into Liverpool, so those minutes do count and hopefully still allow almost everyone that wants to make it, to get there. (No parkway access, so travel time into Liverpool is increased.)

I plan to be there a bit earlier (by 4:45) and hanging around the playground area with the boys and a sister, so you don't have to wait to hang out if you can get there ahead of time. If you get to the start area after 5:15, just run down the normal park as always - we'll be out there doing our 2-4 mile runs as usual, and expect to be done and going separate ways (if need be) by 6.

The corporate challenge should start about 6:25 (last I knew - someone please correct me if that is much different) and I plan to get out about a 1/4 to a 1/2 mile down the course (a little past the main throng) and cheer on any and everyone I know...think cowbells if you want to join in on the cheering section! We have TRYers on teams from Lockheed Martin, Wegmans, Goulds Pumps, Eaton, and probably more that I do not know about?

I'll leave it up to the cool people as to whether there is an after CC gathering at one of the local places? It makes for a fun (but busy) night with all the different people hanging out in their team colors.

Call me Caitlyn

Let's start with some fun. Did you all see that a 92 year old woman set a record by finishing the San Diego Rock n' Roll marathon over the weekend? Did you see the local connection that she is a Syracuse alumna? If you want to have your faith in humanity destroyed after reading this heartwarming story - read the comments below the local story. People are dicks! Especially people who do Ironman triathlons. There are only about one step up from those inhuman cross-fitters. :-/ (Since not everyone will read it, the key negative commenter chimed in that she finished outside the official marathon course limit of 7 hours and therefore is not even an official finisher.) FYI - she did it in just under 17 minute per mile pace.

Next week is one of the two Tuesdays all season where there is not a normal TRY meet-up. The Chase Corporate Challenge kicks us out of the park. Several TRYers are taking part in the Corporate Challenge itself so will be around for that. For others of you, if you don't mind some crowds, I encourage you to come to the park a bit early and join me for a run before the challenge. I do request attendance for this so that we can coordinate. You have to avoid the "parkway" and depending on timing, you have to park outside of the traditional park as well. We'll meet at approximately 4:45 and start at 4:50 (if that works for the few of you that can do this - if not, it can be a bit later - let's talk) and I'll use my phone to track down anyone that is a bit late due to travel issues. We will do a simple run on the normal part of the park trail and then are done in time for you to leave, or grab a drink or ice cream, while waiting for the corporate challengers to get done and join you. (It's always fun to cheer on as well. With the huge turnout and the team shirts it makes for a colorful crush of people going by.)

This week - it's all normal though. 5:30 meet-up, 5:35ish group start. Where are all the new people? Are we that offensive that no one comes back more than once?

Does anyone want to join in and check out the new location and setup for the Liverpool Relay For Life this Friday night? I need to find a more precise schedule that I will post on the Facebook group, but I know that music starts by 5 and opening ceremonies (with Ted and Amy from 93Q!) starts at 6:30. It is at the Liverpool high school track and therefore has built in concession stand and much nicer amenities than Long Branch Park had. What it won't have is a natural feel to it, and you know, trees. They've changed the location and moved the weekend by 2 weeks, but I still plan to check it out for a while. I'm aiming for arriving at 6ish and hope to see a couple of you there.

Paige's Butterfly Run is on Saturday - you can still join in. Online registration ends tonight (Tuesday night) and I believe you can do in person registration through the event morning? (I'm too lazy to look that up since I have no idea if any of you are even considering it who haven't already signed up.)

We have two centipede division teams signed up again and plan to run the 5K, witness the Caterpillar Crawl - should have a few kids in that, then walk the 3K, then watch the award ceremony and then have a quick lunch at Taste of Syracuse. For those of you who like to plan ahead, here is a list of all the dollar sample items. (From bacon-infused goodness, to maple candies, to bang-bang...the ToS has so much to offer.)

Lastly - have you ever attempted to raise money for online fundraiser by posting on Facebook? Did you realize that 99% of people just ignore your online appeals? So, if you have some disposable income to burn, some tax deductions to make, or like either of these causes, consider donating. Drew is raising money for his Tour de Cure ride this coming weekend. (It raises money for the American Diabetes Foundation.) And Catherine is off to a whopping start in her efforts to raise money for the Food Bank of CNY. Don't forget you can drop off non-perishable food items for the Food Bank of CNY inside the OLP visitor center, any Tuesday, right next to where we meet for TRY!

Mommy, I Need More Wrecking Ball

Before you read on, remember that this is a holiday...so take it easy on my have butted effort.

Eric V seemed to "enjoy" his first taste of TRY intervals and it reminded me just how important and useful of a training tool they can be...so I encourage those who are ready (I'm thinking the Lisa's, Matt's and Stevil's of the world) to start to incorporate some speed work into your weekly routines - hopefully on Tuesday nights when you have people to suffer along side of. So, that goes for anyone ready to crank up their workouts and are eager to train smarter. Other people, keep building up and let the more experienced runners know if you have questions about where you are at in your running training. We've had a handful of new people show up in the last month - but the return rate has been very poor. Probably just a coincidence but it does make me question if we are being as welcoming as we can be? Obviously being hot and in wicked good shape is going to rub people the wrong way, so I strongly encourage everyone to tone that part of themselves down...we aren't crossfitters after all, so no reason why we should be scaring normal people away!

OK, onto the fluffy part:
You long time readers and TRYers know that I do everything I can to hide my true, gay, self behind a veneer of constant one-liners, ethnic slurs, and hawkward innuendo, and by using my puppet family as props - obviously the kids are a bit too cute to actually be mine. So, it is very rare for me to let my guard down and use an actual true story that cuts to the core of me. Enjoy this rare 100% unfiltered view into my real life:

I swear that in the past few days I've had multiple conversations on the impressive, and seemingly under appreciated,  quality of the song "Wrecking Ball", by Miley Cyrus. It led to some repeated listens during recent road trips culminated by tonight's return to Syracuse where my first born kept requesting it to be played again and again. After a few listens and then attempting to play other songs, at least twice he said something along the lines of "Mommy, I need more wrecking ball" to my first wife sitting in the back seat with him. I honestly do not know if I should be proud? Or if I should call up CPS and hand him over to a more worthy person to raise him? We did limit it to about 6 to 7 listens total within a 30 minute period, but I fear if there is damage to be done, it would have certainly been done within that amount of time. (Not to mention continued damage if I continue on to choreograph a dance to it this coming week - which is a very strong possibility as I write this.)

Parenting is a tricky pickle, no?

I can thank the silly, but entertaining "lip sync battle" shtick for bringing the song back into my life. Kudos to Anne Hathaway for this epic spoof of the original video. I'm starting it at the pertinent part, but the whole thing is worth a watch if you enjoy the Jimmy Fallon lip sync videos that have been coming out for months now from his show (and/or like Emily Blunt the overwhelmed opponent during this round):



And since there is so much turnover in TRY (or if your memory is as short as mine is) this TRY post from September of 2013 is a tour-de-force look at Miley's version. Enjoy it for the first time, or take a swing down memory lane. What's not to love about a little construction soft-core? They don't call them hard hats for nothing! Amirite?!

Lastly, we have two Centipede teams lined up for Paige's Butterfly Run in a week and a half. I'm sorry that some people get left out each year, but I do appreciate the fact that we've entered two teams into the fun for three straight years now and that so many of you are willing and flexible to join and get bumped or switch between teams as necessary to fit the personnel. Splitting people on intervals of 5 is not a simple task, so your flexibility is key. You truly do answer the call when I put it out there with minimal notice and I totally appreciate it!

For those of you not on the teams, there is no reason not to run as an individual - you can hang out with the gang all morning and be a part of 90% of the fun. And even for those of you not up to running a full 5K - say like Jill - there is the mile (or mile and a half?) fitness run/walk that plenty of people run and tons of people walk - so there really is an event for every one that comes out to TRY on a Tuesday night. (Not to mention the kiddie "caterpillar crawl" that all the TRYers in strollers are welcome to do for free.) It truly is a case of the more, the merrier. Let me know if you have any questions about any parts of the event!