Prior to the race, I'd looked at the route for the half marathon and I was interested to see where the course went. So many of the roads went through places that had significance in my life as I grew up up.
During the run, my neighbor asked from time to time where we were. She was interested in the scenery or buildings or locations, but she really didn't know anything about the area. She relocated to this area after accepting a position here and her work has always taken her to areas other than where we were running. There were so many memories from my life as we ran through the streets that I didn't mention them all, or even a few of them, but afterwards I got to thinking about them and thought I'd see if I could remember them here.
We started at the bell tower of the college I spent lots of time at all through my life. I didn't get a degree from the school, but I took classes there and was all over the campus from the time I was a small child. We ran past the park with the train and carousel we took my son to not long ago. I rode that train and carousel from such a young age and it still looks just the same today.
We headed downtown and I thought about the ballroom dance instructor I dated for a while as we went past the house he lived at. Next we passed what was at one point the Planned Parenthood building I visited throughout college. As we went to downtown proper, we passed by the building my father worked in before he retired, a beautiful shiny marble building. After that, we turned around and passed the original building he worked in prior to that. The original building wasn't shiny, but it was old and it brought back memories of an excitingly cluttered office filled with science materials.
We left downtown via one of the main roads in town and I mentally waved to the art supply store that got me hooked on artisan papers from around the world for the origami I love to do. We turned onto the next road and I saw the psychologist I'd seen years back still has her office in the same spot. I got hungry as we ran past the Pizza Hut I ate at probably four days a week my senior year in high school when we were allowed to go off campus for lunch. And then we ran by my high school.
My neighbor commented that it was a pretty building, and I agree, it is pretty. It's old and stately and rocky and she mentioned that people could get married in front of it. That was a strange thought, getting married in front of your high school. We ran on past the parking spot I parked in for a year straight and then up the hill past the first shopping mall in the city where the 10K ended and loud music was playing.
As we continued, we ran past the Rose Garden that was such a serene break in the city landscape, hidden so no one would know it was there unless you knew. My neighbor asked about the houses here, just as we ran one block away from the first rental property my parents ever bought, and still own today.
We then turned down the next road and I remembered being in my first collision, on the way home with my boyfriend and best friend in high school. They let out class too late as it had already iced over and my boyfriend's car slid into a parked car in slow motion. We had to knock on the door of the people's car we'd just hit and ask if we could use their phone to call the police. Strange to think of now because my first thought is, "No one had a cell phone?" But this was the eighties.
We turned and headed down several more roads and at the next water station we passed the church I went to when the first person from my high school had died after we all graduated. It was a sad reunion of our class.
Then we came up to my college. How great to be running along side the edge of the school. There is a much nice fence now and the trees are significantly larger and a whole field is now a parking lot, but the buildings are just the same and it looks as I remember it in so many ways.
We turned around and went past the Applebee's that always reminds me of the local franchise's marketing director I dated for several years and makes me wonder what he's doing now. We turned around at the "belt line" that's been the hub of transportation all over the city ever since I was born and then we went started making our way back to the start, at the bell tower.
From a memory standpoint, it was a great experience. I saw so many areas of town I'd only experienced while in a car. It was a fun run yesterday. The time flew by.
The Big Boy Update: Slot machine. He loves the slot machine in the basement. My husband taught him how to use it when he was younger. Now, if he wants to play my husband will pull a chair up, unlock it and turn it on. He can then walk away and my son will happily play with it by himself. Sort of. My son forgets what comes next. But not to worry, daddy can hear the sounds from across the room and without looking, let him know what to do next. I came downstairs to hear daddy say, "black knob" following which my son looked at the machine and pulled the black knob to start the reels spinning. A few minutes later I hear, "red buttons" and I see my son look and then hit in order the three "skill stop" red buttons that make the reels lock into a selection. At one point I heard, "you won, you don't need to put in more money." When my son was done he told me, "finished" and asked that I turn it "off" and watched while I unlocked the machine, pressed the power switch and then closed the door. Satisfied I'd done a complete job, he headed off to find other toys.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Free standing up. She is taking being vertical very seriously. Yesterday she figured out how to stand up without pulling up on something. She practiced it all day long. Today, she's up and going without thinking about it. This was something my son didn't figure out for a long time, although he had his own strategies when it came to walking.
Fitness Update: Not too shabby. All the training paid off. And the running in the hilly park didn't hurt. I'm not particularly tired today and I'm not sore. The race yesterday seemed fairly easy after the fifteen miles in the park I'd worked up to. I was even surprised we beat the pacers for the half marathon for a time less than 2:15. But yesterday, I was tired. I was asleep at 8:30.
Someone Once Said: Anybody can clap and cheer—but applause worthwhile can be found in a pile of soft, green folding money.
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