On Being Human

Yesterday was June 30. I intended to make much of the one-month-to-go milestone (my marathon's in Wakefield on July 30), but then I also intended to do my 5-mile short run at the end of a long work day. Instead, an urgent work project followed me home and swallowed up the end of my day.

And yet way, way too late I put on my running clothes and pulled my hair back into a tight ponytail fully intending to get my training in, dammit, before snapping safely back to my senses: Clearly, I needed to sleep more than I needed to not miss a second run. And just when I was starting to berate myself for missing a second run of my training season, a friend and fellow writer and runner sent me an email asking how the training was going:

"If there's one piece of advice that you won't hear too often, it's this: MILK IT! Eat that pint of ice cream, get a massage, let the dishes fill the sink, and yes, by all means, tell that cause-of-the-day-canvasser: 'I'm running a marathon for Grub, now fuck off.'"

But while I'm not ready to tell members of the unsuspecting public to fuck off, I'm positively a-tingle with the idea of unleashing an f-bomb (or thirty) on the harpy in my head that will not let this lousy missed run die already.

So harpy of mine, I tried to reason with you. Because really there's nothing earth shattering with a missed run here and there as long as I'm getting up on Friday mornings for my long run (I have and I will--18 miles tomorrow and why I'm not in bed right now is a riddle for another time). And though I'd say this seemed like a perfectly logical argument, my harpy just screeched all the louder (as harpies will), and I'm left with no other options. So here I am, pushing back my metaphorical sleeves, taking a deep breath, and telling my inner harpy exactly where she can shove that relentlessly shrill shriek of hers.

Now maybe I can finally get some sleep...

Catherine Elcik is running her first marathon to raise money for a scholarship fund for Grub Street, Inc, an independent writing center in Boston, MA. Sponsor the run (and quite frankly, her second wind) at www.firstgiving.com/runforgrub.

On Birthdays and Baubles

Today's my birthday. Tomorrow's my wedding anniversary. And though I've managed to get my miles in around the celebratory shenanigans that have been happening since Friday, my diet over the last two days has been more John Candy on a bender than Cathy Elcik on a training regimen. I'm OK with this.

Before the heads of the running purists among you go on and explode, know that I paid for everyone of the culinary baubles of the last two days with a rubbery-legged 3-mile training run this morning. And I'm OK with this, too.

Though there's definitely a birthday cake in my future to celebrate National Butter Cream Frosting Appreciation Day (this is what one of the Run for Grub sponsors calls a birthday), my meals for the foreseeable future will be made up of a whole lot of fruit, whole grains, and lean protein.

And though this is the only birthday I'll celebrate during training, I'm sure this weekend's tasty hijinks won't be the last bauble over the next fifteen weeks (Grub Street's upcoming Muse and the Marketplace conference is always good for at least a couple glasses of wine, for example).

Let me be clear, here: I've made no promises to run the perfect marathon—I just want to cross that finish line with my fundraising goals met or exceeded. Let's make that our working definition of the perfect marathon from here on out, shall we?

And while we're redefining perfect scenarios, if you've been waiting for the perfect moment to flip your coins into the Run for Grub well, what better time than on the 35th birthday of the runner herself? Is this shameless? Maybe. But nothing seems quite as shameless as the sudden urge I'm having for turtle cheesecake and shoestring fries and, and, and too many other pound-packing pleasures to take the time to name here.

Sigh.

I hereby dedicate the thirty-three miles I'm scheduled to run in weeks two and three to whittling all traces of the last two days from my middle. Buoy my mood by making that pledge you've been meaning to make for my birthday today?

Catherine Elcik is running her first marathon to raise money for a scholarship fund for Grub Street, Inc, and independent writing center in Boston, MA. Sponsor the run at www.firstgiving.com/runforgrub.