Big Weekend

It is going to be hot-hot-hot tonight, so think about choosing wisely on your choice of run. Unfortunately Mr. Mister is gone so it takes some of the utility away from our "super hot day contingency course" but seeking out more shade and staying closer to a source of water may be reasonable tonight? We'll see what the day holds at TRY time and discuss options then.

Speaking of TRY...a lot of you followed along and noticed this so I don't want to spend too much more time on it, but a flat out amazing moment in the history of TRY happened over the weekend. Something that might be a first of it's kind? Of course I'm talking about Ally actually posting on a TRYer related topic. She is alive! And still pays attention. Utterly outerworldly effort from her there. Congratulations Ally on your amazeballs achievement!

(That other big thing that happened will have to wait for a proper treatment since I don't think I can do it justice myself. I'm hoping one of the participants can provide the detail on what it was like to pay the "iron price".)

I can say that I was very impressed by the TRY support for the "IMLP". A few TRYers cheered things on directly and I know of a few others who followed along from home. That was really nice to see that support and concern on a summer Sunday.

Nothing fancy from me today - if you have not and have an interest - please go through the 300ish photos that have been posted in the last week. Mostly from Paige's and then some from the Boilermaker and the after-after party.

Coming up:
In about 2 1/2 weeks - on Friday, August 14th it's the yearly Lockheed Martin sponsored free Syracuse Chiefs baseball game. With informal tailgate before and entertaining fireworks afterwards. It's time to think about who wants in on that free event. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend (my little sis gets married the next day so I'll already be out of town) but I did grab some tickets and if that is not enough to distribute, I'm sure a TRYer from LM can grab more.

That's it...don't let your Popsicle melt today!

Snuck Away to PA

I must not be very good at reading calendars because my long planned vacation to the Pocono region in Pennsylvania somehow caught me off guard. Oops! I will not be around tonight. Please find a way to survive without me and my little distractions.

This week it is back to normal for TRY. The volatility of June and July is over and from tonight til the middle of November you can count on TRY being right where it should be in OLP. It looks like the storm threat should pass through in time to leave you with beautiful running conditions - mid 70s and partly cloudy. Enjoy!

Fleet Feet of Syracuse is running a promotion where they are asking where they should give some money under the name of "The Power of Running". They have taken votes to settle on three finalist and for the next 8 days you can vote to select the single winner. The finalists are Paige's Butterfly Run, Girl Scouts of NY Penn, Advocates Inc., of Syracuse. Obviously I have a favorite among those three, but vote for which ever one you would most like to support. (I naively wonder about the Girl Scouts entry...since contests like this are popularity contests...if that group truly is drawing in people from NY and Pennsylvania - then it has an unfair advantage and to me, and shouldn't be involved in this local vote. Oh well.) You can read the full write up on the vote or can skip directly to the voting page. Please vote! (I just did and it took about 20 seconds - name, email address, and choice is all it takes.)

I'm still working on TRY photos from PBR and the BM. I went through and grabbed 95% of our glimpses from the official event photographers and will upload those to Facebook next...I did not quite get all of them because it gets silly when you can just barely see us in the background. There are some other photos of friends of TRYers (like Janna's Jason) but there are limits to how much I want to squint while looking through over 2000 thumbnails. Full album is here where you can get larger format files if the ones I upload make you want a better version. For this post, here is the pre-race glamour shot of each team:







Wow, we all look GREAT.

Lastly, another thank you to "Jennifer" and her family for hosting the TRY night last Tuesday. It worked out perfectly and they were very generous with their "tours" of the grounds. (But I haven't noticed any photos yet...did anything get posted that I missed?)

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.