A Numberly Interlude

418.2 — Total number of miles I'll have run from the start of my training on April 10 to the finish line at the end of the marathon.

116 — Total number of miles I've already run as of Sunday's short run.

302.2—The number of miles I have left to run between today and the race on July 30.

17 — The number of times today I'll find myself wishing I hadn't quantified the number of miles I have yet to run.

3 — Number of new (and oddly shaped) callouses that have appeared on my feet since I started training.

159 — Current number of songs on my runner's playlist.

18 — Number of Elvis Presley songs on that playlist.

100 — Percent chance that a handful of those Elvis songs will be cut.

2 — Number of times I've fallen.

7 — Number of times I've run along Revere Beach and wished it was me sitting on the sea wall eating fried dough.

0 — Number of times I've actually stopped to eat fried dough during a run.

1 — Number of times I've been lunged at by a dog and been so startled my heart lurched and I screamed like a little girl.

6 — Approximate number of inches said dog's leash stopped him short of reaching me.

1/2 — Number of miles it took me to run off the panic brought on by near-miss mauling.

1392 — The number of dollars raised by the Grub lovers in the first 6.5 weeks of training.

758 — Number of dollars to go to reach our goal of funding four scholarships.

68 — Number of days left until the marathon.

11.15 — Approximate number of dollars we need to raise daily to make the goal before the marathon (so doable!).

92 — Number of minutes ago I should have been in bed.

4 — Number of crazy Run for Grub related schemes I've hatched, including the original idea for the run itself, my quest to get someone —anyone— to give me a high five as I run by, my questionable devotion to spandex running pants, and my promise to send a personalized poem (probably a haiku or limerick) to anybody who makes a donation on the Run for Grub donation page at First Giving between now and June 1.

Did you catch that? I'll send a personalized poem to anyone who donates money to the Run for Grub between now and June 1. I mean really. What other blogger in your life writes you personalized poetry? Though in the interest of not getting hounded by the Better Business Bureau, it must be disclosed that I'm not really a poet. But then if you've been following this blog's previous forays into haiku and limericks, you've already been made aware of that. Painfully aware.

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.

The Tortured Limerick

For my very next running and lit trick,
I'm having a go at the limerick.
   If tomorrow's ten miles,
   rob me of my smiles,
this poem may bring them back right quick.

Running Haiku: A Poetic War Cry

Yesterday's realization that marathon training may not inspire the last twenty pounds I'm trying to lose to beat a fearful retreat inspired me to declare war...through what I hope is sufficiently bellicose haiku.*

HAIKU, THE FIRST

Stubborn belly fat,
you clinging (but shrunken) rolls,
oh, how you mock me!

HAIKU, THE SECOND

(Un)dearest fat cells:
You're no longer welcome here!
Flee my gut at once!

HAIKU, THE THIRD

Fat, you've been sentenced:
Death by interval training!
Hill's? Sprints? You're soooo dead.

HAIKU, THE FOURTH

Three miles today, fat.
Up and down the same damn hill
Didn't I warn you?

HAIKU, THE FIFTH

The fat laughs last, though.
Legs are rubbery puddles.
Hill work is no joke.

*It's worth noting that these "poems" are best enjoyed in the spirit of the worst of the beat poetry from So I Married an Axe Murderer:



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.