Day 7 Two Scouth Marys and Two and a half Miles!

Day Six Ran 2.5 miles/ Total so far 15 miles/ Miles to Go 985



Morning was mortgaged to the debt of the night before. I did not get up until 11:30. It was glorious to languish in bed. Saturday night was spent at a combination going away party for a friend and her daughter moving across the country and an engagement party for her sister as the ring was unveiled. Mixing sorrow with joy...the ying and yang. Most of the people there were Japanese. I speak a little Japanese, and understand less. Many conversations were in English but many more were not. At one point someone asked me if I felt like Bill Murry on the set of "Lost in Translation?" I had to admit that I did at times, but as the wine flowed and as I filled up on the wonderful plates of food spread across the dinning room table...all was well with the world.

On the way home, in another New York moment, a very loud black man on the nearly empty subway was pan handling and asking everyone if he had body order. He did and he knew he did. I guess his routinewas to stand there stinking long enough so a weary traveler would give him money to go away. But the late night crowd would have none of it and no one reached for change. We all practiced the art of the straight ahead stair or the more sophisticated pretend to be asleep head tilt. He stopped right in front of me and kept talking nonsense. I was not in the mood. I just stared...at him, right at time, and he stared at me. Without thinking, and probably just because I was tired, I blinked. He laughed...said "You blinked!" and moved on. I was not stabbed and I had not succumbed to his blackmail.


It was the too cheerful text from daughter Leigh asking if I wanted to run this morning (at 11:30 so there was not much "morning" left) that prompted me to get out of bed. I texted back that brunch and Bloody Marys sounded more apropos at the moment, and that we had all afternoon to run. She agreed and Taka, Leigh and I met at a favorite haunt on 44th Street, Et Cetera Et Cetera, for a wonderful brunch which included salad (with goat cheese, walnuts, apples, arugula etc.) and fat nasty medium rare burgers with EE fries (Et Cetera Et Cetera french fries). Mine were washed down with two Scotch Marys, my latest favorite brunch drink, made with scotch instead of vodka....I know sounds terrible but is heavenly, if you like scotch and I do. Leigh and Taka stuck to traditional vodka Bloody Marys but made with Tito's home made vodka from Austin, Texas. How cool is that....a New York bartender from outside of Boston, recommending a Texas vodka!

Brunch also included wonderful mini cornbread muffins with orange marmalade, crusty herb bread and a wonderful dessert of lemon sorbet floating in Limonella liquor. I refused to feel guilt of any kind for my excess since I had been running and knew I would run again that day. But as I napped and realized it was now 4:15 and friends were coming over for dinner, I had my moment of truth. If I was going to run it had to be now. I texted Leigh and she joined me at the apartment and we walked to Central Park. Her enthusiasm for the run from this morning (when she was fresh from 12 hours of sleep sans party hangover) had been tempered by her brunch indulgences...but she was a trooper and determined to support me in my run. Off we went for another 2.5 mile run. Leigh started out at a pace that hurt but then as the trail turned to a long uphill climb she asked why I sped up on hills? I don't and I hadn't, so I felt redeemed. We survived, laughing at all the characters we passed along the way, including an anorexic woman in a midriff top who yelled "Shit" as she passed...don't know why.

Felt good when the run was over....but I did it. Thanks Leigh! And thanks to you readers who keep me motivated. Tonight is a quiet dinner and the Oscars at home...Taka"s Shrimp curry yum! Life is Good!