2000: Dolphins,
Tigers and Puns, oh my!
2001: Just Like Normal
Folks
2002: Looking for a
Little Support
2003: The
One-Handed Life
2004: The
Best Show on Broadway
| SHEILA's BLOG 
I like runners too. |
FUNNY THE BLOG
Latest entries:
"Happy Anniversary??"
"Call Me Cynical..."
(the latest entry is always on top,
and earlier entries are below)
|
MARATHON MAN
11 June 2005
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I've always wondered how a couple of couch potatoes sired a jock. Walt's
not exactly a couch potato, but he also is no jock either. He has biked to work ever
since we moved to Davis, initially a ride of some 5 miles, and he bikes everywhere, but
he's never been into any sort of formal sports, though he did play on an office softball
team, briefly, when we were first married. You won't find him on the golf course
with other retirees.
As for ME, I'm taking some folks around San Francisco next weekend, and I'm
wondering if I'll be able to walk the few blocks down Market Street from 5th St. to 1st
St. and back again without collapsing. Even in my "thin" (relatively
speaking) days, I was never a jockette. (Well, except for that one brief shining
moment when I was a biker)
|
| But along came Tom. Tom was born to sports. He must
have his grandfather's genes. My father, at one point thought he was going to become
a physical education instructor and used to work out with weights at home, though never
played team sports. Tom absolutely loves sports. He loves
playing. He loves watching. And he's very good at anything he does. He also
married a girl who is very into sports as well. They were made for each other.
The other kids might occasionally play a game or watch a sport, but never with
the passion that it has been for Tom his entire life.
David was also into sports and at one point got very serious about judo.
Who knows what David would have been like, had he lived. |
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Two years ago, Tom's wife decided she was going to run the San
Diego marathon. She trained for months and, with Tom as her support team, she
triumphantly completed the race. While she didn't exactly become a compulsive
marathon runner, she did decide to run the race again this year. So this
year Tom decided to run it with her. They've been training for months and then,
sadly, shortly before race day, Laurel injured herself while running and was unable to run
the whole race, but she did complete the first half.
Tom went on without her. |
| The problem living so far away is that we weren't able to get to
San Diego to cheer him on, but his aunt and her boyfriend were there. They were able
to meet Laurel at the halfway point and drive her to the finish, and then be there at the
finish to cheer Tom when he crossed the finish line. He was the 9,504th
person to finish (out of 17,113) and finished in 5 hours six minutes 2 seconds.
The next day he wrote to tell us that "I wouldn't say I've recovered, but I
am able to walk."
"Next stop: Mt Everest," he says. |
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Mood
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