Monday, October 22, 2007

Heaven Help Me

In an instant, the tides have changed. The cool, crisp yet sunny fall weather has given way to overcast skies, wind, and rain.

Sunday was the last of the pleasant days, I'm afraid, and even that showed signs of change. I had read the night before of something called the Orionids, a meteor shower that peaks every year on Oct 21, near the constellation Orion. Since I've been running into (ha ha) this Orion dude a lot lately, I thought it would be a great opportunity to catch some falling stars. It was decidedly less exciting at 5:45 am Sunday morning, bleary eyed, trying to stay upright in a strong forceful wind that kicked up every fallen leaf and swayed trees back and forth all around me. I didn't see a single meteor, but I did do 13 miles before 8:00 am.

Monday brought more wind, plus rain. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me, but I've started to feel a tickle in my throat and just a touch of stuffiness in my nose. In response, I've been loading up on juice and fluids, and regretting the number of times I've driven past the "flu shots available" signs without stopping. I've even given Airborne a try, which for me to do so means I'm desperate. I just don't want anything to interrupt my already irregular training! Tomorrow's 5-miler will be a game-day decision.

Lastly, I'm going to need help over the next few months. I received an email a while ago asking for volunteers to help with an upcoming race. Seemed like a good idea at the time and a chance to give something back to the running community. We just had our first meeting. Just about every volunteer is the head of a committee (seems like there are no committee members, just heads, hmmmm ...). Somehow, I ended up as the 5K Run for Hope committee "chair". This is for the MS Society. I'm half excited, half scared silly, and fully humbled by this. I've yet to determine exactly what needs to happen, but I suspect most of the hard work will be done by the local running store that handles a lot of these races. It's all for a good cause and should be a fun experience. If anyone wants to come along for the ride, there's plenty of room ... don't be shy now!

5 comments:

Anne said...

I don't live close enough to be physical help, but I've got experience helping run races, so let me know if I can assist with advice, recommendations, etc.

jeanne said...

good for you! not on the beginning of the NOT COLD that you are NOT GETTING but on being the RD!

and talk about your hardcore. 13 miles before 8? Dude, that deserves a medal.

Rhea said...

So great that you're helping to organize a race! I'm not close enough to help, but I've volunteered at a number of races, so I'm here if you want to bounce any ideas off of me.

Deene said...

congrats on being appointed "chair", i hope you'll share your experinces. good job at being out there so early in the a.m.

peter said...

Heading volunteering is a lot common sense--don't be afraid to delegate. Back here in DC, I have the good services of NBTR and (used to) have the good services of Bex to run some of the pace groups for the training groups I direct. On the other hand, directing things doesn't do a whit for your own training (my marathon time dropped from 3:50 to 4:34 after I started directing instead of volunteering).