Countdown to Triathlon - 256 Days, 36.5 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 22 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

                                                                        

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - 

 Instead of being a time of unusual behavior, Christmas is perhaps the only time in the year when people can obey their natural impulses and express their true sentiments without feeling self-conscious and, perhaps, foolish.  Christmas, in short, is about the only chance a man has to be himself.

  ~Francis C. Farley
                    

 That quote sure is the truth.  Don't we all seem to be friendlier and more loving during December than the other months?  Maybe it is because of the internal feelings we get from the Reason for the Season,  Jesus.  Maybe it's because of all the decorations and Christmas music. .  I know some of you reading this will say to yourself, "But I'm always friendly and loving."  Well good for you but the Christmas Spirt does seem to permeate the air during this time and causes people to seem nicer than usual. 


The Journey - Installment Twenty-Two

The Plaza Hotel at Central Park

After arriving in New York City and checking into the Plaza Hotel at Central Park, the three sisters reunited and had lunch downstairs in the hotel.  It was a very old hotel and often used in photographs advertising New York City.  Sandy and the boys went out by themselves for lunch and some sightseeing.   After lunch, Cindy had to go with the other runners to get registered and get her bib.  Patti and I headed out to do some sightseeing of our own.  Our hotel was in a very central location and within ten blocks we could see so many sights. We walked several blocks to Trump Tower, the 58-story skyscraper located at the corner of East 56th Street and 7^th Avenue.  It is a beautiful building housing such tenant notables as the Gucci flagship store, Qatar airways (22^nd) floor and Saudi Prince Mutaib who owns an entire floor of the building.  

            Patti and I headed toward Rockefeller Center.  When I have seen camera shots of the Center, usually while watching the Today Show, I never quite had the perspective of the layout.  I remember that the ice skating rink has been shown in many movies and on the Today Show, but I didn’t understand just exactly where it was.  Patti and I came upon what I would call a narrow corridor which goes from the sidewalk on which we were walking and ends at the skating rink.  The rink is encircled by flags. The little alleyway or corridor was decorated beautifully with gold and bronze colored Chrysanthemum hanging balls and arches.  It was quite a gorgeous sight and we took lots of photos. 

Patti under the arch with the red jacket.

That's me under the arch wearing boots that were killing my feet.

See how beautiful the flowers were?

The world famous skating rink at Rockefeller Center.

Countdown to Triathlon - 257 Days, 36.75 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 21 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.  ~Norman Vincent Peale

We went to Lake Tahoe for the day on Sunday, which made a long day - two and a half hours up and two and a half hours back.  Before driving home we we stopped to help my Mom finish her decorating.  Her tree and home look absolutely beautiful.  I'll have to take some pictures next time we're there.  The real blessing of the day, besides Bob buying a pickup from a pastor of a church at Lake Tahoe, was the fact that we had good weather going and coming home until we got out of the mountains.  Since Bob was driving his new pickup ( it's a older model Ford), I had to drive his other pickup  home and I was praying all the way that it wouldn't snow.  I actually drove a little faster than I should have and took full advantage of passing lanes because I was really scared to get caught in a blizzard.  Driving in the snow gives me a giant stomach ache and going over the summit is really scary in bad weather since the road is so narrow and winding.  The fact that there is only a waist-high stone fence that separates the drivers from a thousand foot drop to the valley below adds to my discomfort.  Incidentally, that valley is called Christmas Valley, quite apropos to the season we are in currently. By the time we were out of the mountains and only half an hour from my Mom's, the storm hit with pouring rain and wind.  But we did arrive home safely late Sunday night after a very long day.

The training is taking a backseat, I'm afraid, to Christmas preparations and holiday activities and get-togethers.  It seems that the same thing occurred during my bike ride training.  The first of the year I will definitely have to turn up the heat on the training program. I most likely won't be swimming until then, but at least I can use my elliptical trainer which is in my family room so that I don't have to get out in the rain.  Poor Roxi will have to wait until the weather is better before I go out walking. 

I hope all your plans for the Christmas Holiday are going well and that you are not stressing out but are able to enjoy this very special time of the year.

The Journey - Installment Twenty-One

(Note – I have asked my sisters Cindy & Patti to help me remember these next three days.  Lynda is a second cousin to my husband Bob and she has graciously told me her story about September 11 which will be included in a couple of days.)      

        

      After September 11^Th, there had been some talk of canceling the marathon. It was decided by the marathon committee that this country was not going to let the terrorists run our lives and keep us in constant fear.  However, a week before we arrived in New York City, anthrax was found at the NBC studios in an envelope mailed to NBC headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Center.  Several floors of the NBC headquarters were closed for several days.  Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD) and Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) also received letters tainted with anthrax.  There were other cases and one woman died from the disease.  There was certainly a heightened level of concern with what was being sent through the mail.  Not only had I been nervous about flying on Halloween because of possible terrorist attacks, we also wondered if we were safe from an anthrax outbreak.  My sister Patti flew to New York from Minnesota on Saturday, the day Cindy’s family and I arrived by train.  Patti did mention that she was very nervous taking a cab to the hotel because it seemed that most of the cab drivers were Middle Eastern.  The prevailing mood of our citizens was one of wariness about anyone who even looked Middle Eastern.  I do remember that the Sikh Temple in Hughson put up a huge sign on their chain link fence and kept their gate locked.  The sign read, “We are not Muslims and we love America.”  They had dozens of small American flags attached to the fence.  They feared for their property and lives, and rightly so, because many Muslim places of worship in the U. S. had been attacked since September 11th. This particular house of worship was not Muslim, but many Americans didn't know the difference between Sikhs and Muslims. 

           

            Cindy was part of a group of 11 patients of Dr. Pamela Peeke of Bethesda, Maryland.  Dr. Peeke had asked the eleven ladies if they would consider training for the New York Marathon with her.  The Marathon was to be held the first Sunday of November 2001.  Cindy and all the ladies, including Dr. Peeke,  had been training for months.  Their little group was being sponsored by Prevention Magazine for which Dr. Peeke sometimes wrote articles on health and physical training.  Each of the ladies had raised at least $3000 for Memorial Sloan Kettering and their Pediatric Cancer program.  With that contribution, each received two nights free at the Plaza Hotel at Central Park.   One of the women had been getting Cancer treatments of her own during the time of her training and actually had to go to the hospital the night before the marathon.  That is real determination and motivation on a level I find hard to comprehend. 

Countdown to Triathlon - 260 Days, 37..14 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 20 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

 THOUGHT FOR THE DAY -

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so?  It came without ribbons.  It came without tags.  It came without packages, boxes or bags.  And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore.  Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before.  What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.  What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.  ~Dr Seuss


I spent the afternoon helping my Mom decorate her tree and other parts of her house.  It always feels so good when the tree gets up and decorataed.  Today I'll do my own decorating so check back on Tuesday morning for more of New York, New York with photos.





The Journey - Installment Twenty

Going to New York for the running of the New York Marathon

(Side note – I have asked Cindy, Patti and Lynda to help me remember these three days so I will put their comments into the story. Patti is another sister and you'll learn who Lynda is soon.)

            Saturday, November 3, 2001, Cindy and her husband Sandy, her three sons, Kanyon, Ryan and Corey and I took the train from Union Station, Washington D.C.   I had never been on a train before and the trip to New York City was viewed from an interesting perspective because the tracks run through different parts of cities than you don’t see when you’re in a car on the freeway.  It was an exciting experience and I had never been through Baltimore, Maryland; Wilmington, Delaware; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Trenton or Newark, NJ.  From Newark it was a short ride to Penn Station in New York City.  We arrived at Penn Station and I remember that when we walked out the door onto the street, Madison Square Garden was next to the station.  I had never been to New York City before but I’d heard of Madison Square Garden so often because my Dad always watched the Saturday Night Fights sponsored by Gillette Blue Blades.

 Every Saturday night when my sisters and I were in the middle of watching Rawhide, with Clint Eastwood, our Dad would come into the room and switch channels and we’d hear, “The Saturday Night Fights are on the air” followed by “To look sharp every time you shave, to feel sharp and be on the ball, to be sharp use Gillette Blue Blades, for the quickest, slickest shaves of all.”  How about that piece of trivia?  I can still hear them singing the song in my mind.  I just remember that my sisters and I pouted as we left the room because we only got to see half of Rawhide. There was no TiVo in those days and only one television in the house.   Many times I remember hearing that the fight was taking place in Madison Square Garden so when I was actually standing in front of the Garden that day, the Gillette song started playing in my brain.  All this trivia is not just for you dear readers, but also as  additional information for my children to know about some of the things we experienced when we were young (Oh, so many years ago!  I’m going to turn 67 in two weeks – how did that happen?)

Countdown to Triathlon - 261 Days, 37.255 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 19 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

This reminds me of our little town of Hughson where we lived for 35 years.  

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things - not the great occasions - give off the greatest glow of happiness.  ~Bob Hope

I'm off today to help my Mom decorate her house. 

          

















The Journey -

Installment Nineteen







           Leaving Sweet Old Bob at home, I arrived in Virginia on Halloween, which was a Wednesday that year.  That day I ran errands with Cindy and we got ready for the children who would be coming to “Trick or Treat”.  Cindy also had to prepare for her trip to New York, including getting her husband and three boys ready for the excursion. Cindy’s son Kanyon was preparing for his Eagle Scout Court of Honor which was to take place soon after we returned from New York.  As an aside, all three of her boys earned their Eagle Scout rank which is a monumental accomplishment.

On Friday I accompanied Cindy to West Springfield High School where a very giving and generous mother made a spaghetti lunch every Friday for the Varsity football team.  I watched as the other kids in the cafeteria purchased their lunches and was totally amazed at the choices the kids made for their meal – candy, cookies, junk, and more junk.  I guess I’ve been away from school too long and didn’t remember.  Suddenly, my memory came back.  I do now remember that my mother would give me lunch money and I would buy custard (in a little green pottery custard cup), a Pay Day candy bar and a package of peanut butter cookies which were wrapped in wax paper.  They were so greasy that the grease soaked through the wax paper.  Boy, they were sure good!  But, I am digressing here. 

            In the evening we attended Kanyon’s football game at the high school.  I remember that the first weekend in November was very cold in Virginia at night.  We were able to sit with our backs to the announcer’s booth which helped cut some of the wind.  Much colder weather than we were experiencing in California. We got to bed late that night and had to get up early for our trip to New York City.

Yikes, I said I post this afternoon, but got carried away writing the next section. I promise it will be there in the morning.

Countdown to Triathlon - 262 Days, 37.5 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 19 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

A THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love!  ~Hamilton Wright Mabie


It's not so cold this morning, but I'm off to Bible Study Fellowship; we're studying the Book of Isaiah.  Roxi and I will go walking after I get back, about noon.  I have an entire weight room set-up in the backyard glasshouse, but can't get to it because of the "stuff" in the way.  I was successful when training for the bike ride in a program of weights by Bill Phillips called Body for Life.  The program is three times a week, about one hour each time and is really helpful.  So my next goal is to get that area of the glasshouse cleaned out so I can get to the weights.  A lofty goal but certainly possible. 

The Journey - Installment Nineteen


Whoops!  I ran out of time and this will be a new part of the story which I haven't written up.  I called my sister Cindy to collaborate with her on this part of the excursion.  I'll post this afternoon.  Come back late afternoon.  Sorry.

Countdown to Triathlon - 263 Days, 37.5 weeks to Race Day (See Installment 18 of "The Journey", 220 mile bike ride, below)

         Goodbye fall leaves - Hello Pine Swags!


THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.  ~W.T. Ellis



The training continues - it's cold and hard to get the old bones moving in the morning.  But move, I must.  Even the fountain is having it's difficulties.

 

 





NOTICE THE ICE!  BRRRR



The Journey - Installment Eighteen

 

 

 

         NEW YORK, NEW YORK    

            The 31^st of October, 2001, Halloween, I flew to Virginia to accompany my sister and her family to New York for the New York Marathon on Sunday, November 5^th.  We had talked to each other earlier in the summer and discovered that she was in training for the marathon and I informed her that I was training for a 200 mile bike ride. Neither of us had ever attempted such feats in our lives.  I was a little nervous before flying back to the east coast because of the terrorist alerts following September 11^th.   I am not usually worried or frightened about flying, but this time I had fear.   On the way to the airport, I called Pastor Don on my cell phone and asked him to pray for my safety.  I received such comfort and peace because of his prayers and God’s grace.  It was impressed upon me by a feeling that came over me that I was not to worry because God intended that I complete the ride the following June; therefore nothing harmful would happen to me.  I was able to let go of the fear even though the news was full of predictions of possible terrorist attacks on Halloween on airplanes and shopping malls.