Hello, I'm back!...After a month long unplanned hiatus from the Blog I am back.... It took me a good 3 weeks to recover from the worst jet lag ever and to readjust to American culture. Once again, upon my return, I am reminded that Americans are the strangest and oddest people in the world. Oh well, I guess I'm one of them..
For the past month I've been motivated to work so I've been taking advantage of the motivation. When you work for yourself and do what I do you can work 24/7 if you want. It's completely up to me, however, the lower the bank account the greater the motivation generally.
Socially I've been a little out of the loop but found myself one day last week drinking mid day weekday beers with 3 guys I went to high school with. The skies were sunny and temps were in the 70's (gotta love mild Houston winters). I guess we can all thank Facebook for getting us reconnected. The Facebook phenomenon is pretty amazing. Meet back up with friends you haven't seen in 20 years and before you know it it's just like yesterday. For some that may not be such a good thing but for me it's been fun.
Definitely a highlight over the past month was helping out with the Houston marathon and pacing my friend Neeraj from mile 20 to 25.5. I was in no shape to run an entire marathon but perfectly fit enough to comfortably pace Neeraj in. You may remember Neeraj from my first week and an half in India. Anyway, I hopped into the marathon just past mile 20 and joined him. He was going through a tough patch but within a half mile or so he dug deep and got his head together for the toughest part of the race. I ran just a little ahead when he slowed. When he picked it up I would run just behind. Having a pacer during a race can definitely make a difference. It changes the mental dynamic. Some of my best races have been when I was able to work through the final miles with a competitor. A pacer isn't much different in a sense. During the final 10k of a marathon it's incredibly mental. Anyway, it was really interesting running through the final miles fresh. I've run around 10 or 12 marathons and the final 10k has always been a mixed adventure with head tilted aside combined with focused tunnel vision. This time I was actually able to enjoy the run and take in all that was going on. I was also very careful not to interfere with the aid stations or anyone else's race. At one point we passed a band that was really good. Had I been doing the whole marathon I doubt I would have noticed..
At mile 25.5 I veered off course and Neeraj put the hammer down. I was really proud of how Neeraj dug deep and gutted it out. I could tell he was hurting at mile 20 but he was still able to pull it together for a personal record... Hats off.. Well done..
Once I headed off course I backtracked to mile 25 and met up with the zany Hash House Harriers. The ones who were not racing had actually camped overnight next to the course. They had a couple of barbecue grills going and boat full of beer. No joke. They actually had a flat bottom fishing boat filled with ice and cans of beer. They were pouring cups of beer for marathoners and a surprisingly good number of runners were pausing for a chug. Naturally, I stopped for a can. I still had a few miles to run back to my car otherwise I probably would have spent the rest of the day there...
Marathon day weather was absolutely perfect and times were very fast. Six runners ran under 2 hours 10 minutes. Once I got back to my car I returned home for a quick shower then headed over to my friends Chuck and Cheryl's house. It's wonderful Tuscany style home designed for entertaining and complete with hot tub and pool. They were hosting the running club post marathon party and a fantastic one it was. Loads of beer, food, and plenty of cake. We all raised our glass to JP who at 71 had just completed his 100th marathon. JP is Da' man.....
Naturally, everyone is asking me what my next adventure will be but right now I'm mostly living in the now. I'm not really thinking much ahead but I am getting my resources together to make myself available for the next action packed fun filled chapter. For now, the now in fine....
