Running With Screwdrivers: Another Inaugural Long Run: "Abuelita's" Run

Course: Abuelita Long Run
Towns: Kew Gardens, Kew Gardens Hills, Jamaica, Flushing, Forest Hills
Distance: 12 Miles
Date: Monday, September 3, 2007
Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Weather: 84F, 50% Humidity,
Bright Sunshine,
Course Path: (see map, left)
Elevations: (see graph, left)

























So, I needed to go to my grandmother's at some point before my trip to Spain, because I needed to remove the doorknob from her bathroom door. At the same time, it was Labor Day, and I needed to do a decent run, since I was unable to do a super long run on Sunday. What do to?

Why, do both of course!

My house is nearly 5 miles from my Grandmother's. Add a couple of miles on the way back for diversity, and voila, you have "Abuelita's Run" (Abuela is Spanish for Grandma)

The weatherman indicated it was 82 degrees, but it seemed like it was more like 86 or higher. Also, humidity was low, but I wouldn't have guessed it. The back of my neck was like a lagoon, and I felt like Swamp Thing as I hustled through Parsons & Kissena Boulevards.


Perhaps the best part of this run was the fact that I ran to her house....holding two screwdrivers in my hand! Hey, after all it is Labor Day. What can be better to honor the holiday than by holding Sears Craftman tools in your hands all the way there?!

When I got to her house, I did my good deed, and had my rest stop which consisted of 3 glasses of water, 2 Keebler's Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Chip Cookies, and 1 Banana. My Grandmother instantly noticed the "get-up" I had on. All red, yellow, and black. She immediately recognized that I was dressed like a flag of Spain, and started to laugh. Her assisted-living nurse was there. She was like a bump on a log, watching the Spanish novellas, while my grandmother pranced all around the house.

********1937 (at age 21)****************** 2007 (at age 91)*********************

She turns 91 in a few weeks. I hope I have the same stamina and brain power when I get to be that old. Heck, I hope I get to be that old!!!

On the way back I saw something run across the sidewalk on Kissena Boulevard and into the wild, unkept weeds of Kissena Corridor Park. It was a lizard! I never knew they could exist in NY.
I got home, just in time to shower and go back out. Macy's was having a sale and I needed Polo's for my highly anticipated vacation in sunny Puerto Banus in the heart of the Spanish Riviera. Ahhhh..... Just the sound of that makes me slip into vacation mode...Ahem. I better stop. My lunch break is almost over (writing this today, Tues. and I'm at work now).

Well, I am on a roll. Having run over 30 miles in 3 days, is a record. Officially a record. I've never run that many miles in any 3 day period. Ever. What's even more bizarre is that I felt less sore after yesterday's run than I did the day before that. I've been very mindful not too push myself too too hard and risk injury. I think I may have crossed over into a higher mileage plateau, and if this keeps up, I may have to re-evaluate my training sessions.

So, after a dreadful week, training wise, I have really put together a great set of runs. Can I keep this up? Can my fatigue be further postponed. Only time will tell.

Next week, when I am in Spain, I highly doubt that I will have access to the Internet, but even if I don't I will still journalize everything I can. I just don't know how many miles I'll be able to get under my belt, with all the partying that I am thinking I might be doing. This may be the biggest challenge for me yet this year. Again, only time will tell....