Garnet's Life Adventures

Ra-ta-too-ee and Da-dee-o

I recommend Ratatouille to all of you out there . . . children through adults! I found it very comical and I think ya'll would enjoy it as well.

Aside from that nothing exciting has happened, oh no, that's not correct, I received mail from me dad upon arriving home last night & in it was a photo of him being awarded a metal for his 5K race he did in connection with the Adirondack Marathon.

Here is what dad's letter said (with a bit of editing from me so you don't get too too bored):

It appeared at first to be a day not unlike any other day. But, in fact it was to be a day unlike any other day…as three personal firsts were achieved by me…not that I’m counting! And, furthermore, excellent results were achieved by my friend Ed B, who had traveled up from North Carolina to participate in the Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival, and excellent results were also achieved by Lindsey R, who is sister Ann’s grand daughter through John D.
The first First was that I entered and completed the first running race of my life. It was a mere 5 K race, that is 3.1 miles to those uninitiated into the intricacies of the metric system. The race, in Chestertown, began at 9:30 AM, approximately.

And, on Monday, two days after the race, at the Adirondack General Store, with adoring fans looking on, I was awarded my first place medal for winning in my age group. I asked the lady giving the award about the second and third place finishers and got a Cheshire smile…i.e. I think I was the only one in my age group! But, I finished without hurting anything, and that was my goal. Oh, and my time, according to the certificate was 34 minutes and some seconds. Not too bad!

Ed B, one of the scouts from my days as Scoutmaster of Troop 24 in Dobbs Ferry, ran, or rather slow jogged, the race with me. He is my “running coach” and inspiration, and in fact is a professional coach for the “Team in Training” program of the national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Near the end of the race, Ed challenged me to pass a lady who was running ahead of us, while pushing her two infant children in a stroller and also while holding two large pointer dogs on a very short leash. She had passed me just out of the starting gate, and so I was determined to pass her and beat her to the finish line. And, with Ed’s encouragement, I did! Later, I thanked her for being my “pace setter,” but I don’t think she got the point.

The Adirondack Marathon Distance Festival, of which the 5 K race was a part, also had other events on Saturday, including a Runners Expo at the Schroon Lake Central School, a pasta supper at Word of Life Inn, and free swimming at the Word of Life Inn pool. Well, that led to the second First of my day. We arrived at WOL for swimming shortly after three P.M. and I signed the waiver form and went to the locker room to change. Ed and his wife Bobbie elected to sit by the pool, indoor and heated, of course.

After swimming, Ed suggested going to Saturday evening Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Schroon Lake village, for the 4:30 PM service, rather than waiting for the 5 PM service at Saint Andrews (Episcopal, of course!). So, off we went to OLL, and I achieved my Third first of the day, as I had never set foot in OLL. It is a lovely church and was very well filled by regulars and marathon guests. Following that, we were off to the pasta dinner sponsored by Word of Life, so we went back there and ate up and visited with the locals on our way in and out, and Ed visited with fellow “Team in Training” folks.

On Sunday, Ed ran in the Half Marathon, which started just up the road a bit from the Boathouse, where Bobbie and Ed were staying. Lindsey ran in the Full Marathon, which began in Schroon Lake village. It was a beautiful and cool day, with lots of good sunshine. I am sure this aided and encouraged the runners. Both Ed and Lindsey did spectacularly, as follows:

• Ed: 2 nd prize in his age group, 14 th of all the men in the race and 21 st overall. This was out of a field of over 400 runners, with a personal time of: 1 hour 37 minutes.
• Lindsey: 3 rd place in her age group, 7 th of all the women in the race and 41 st overall, out of a field of almost 200 runners, with a personal time of: 3 hours and 40 minutes.

PS: Speaking of the “pool,” on the Friday after Marathon Weekend, on a calm day that was predicted to get to the 80s, I inveigled Ann into accompanying me in our pontoon boat for a swim across Schroon Lake. So, we boated across the lake to the Scaroon Manor property and I swam back to the Boathouse. It is the Mile Swim, and then some. The water temperature was 64, but it was sunny, calm and warm. A nice accomplishment for me to finish the summer! Three loons met us at mid swim and hooted their plaintive cry in seeming encouragement.

So if you happen to run into me dad or fancy leaving a comment which I can sent to him I know he'd love any comments, compliments, etc!

Labels: dad, movies, running

posted by Sara @ 1:24 pm