Category Archives: personal

At Fratello’s Once Again!

Posted on July 13, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Wednesday,  and we all know my usual destination on a Wednesday is Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort. My friend Kim and I originally started for the Food Truck Frenzy in Ilion to hear The Posers,  but unfortunately the heat and lack of parking drove us to Frankfort where we knew we could sit in air conditioned comfort.  Well, technically, I guess Kim drove us, if you want to be that way about it (and I know some of you do) (you know who you are).

He is fine, yes!

We sat at the bar and ordered wine (Moscato for Kim, Chardonnay for me).  We did not have to wait long for the music.  Justin Smithson plays a nice mix.  Kim especially enjoyed “Tequila Sunrise.”  I confessed to liking boozy songs myself.

I could not make up my mind what food I wanted but finally ordered a basket of calamari and fries, which we shared.  I asked for ranch dressing to dip the fries in.  Yum!  Gino, the bartender, took good care of us.

Kim and Gino.

I did not have my Tablet with me so took pictures with my phone.  It is a new phone, not very expensive, and as you can see, does not take the best pictures.  However, one makes do with what one has.

I kept the best few.

We had a lovely time.  I was only sorry I missed The Posers at the Food Truck thing.

 

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Still Tired on Tuesday

Posted on July 12, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said yesterday that I would try for a better blog post tomorrow, but that would be today, and I am having a Tired Tuesday.  In my defense, I am not a young woman and I had rather a hard time running the Boilermaker 15K two days ago.  Perhaps you read my blog posts about it.  I just glanced over yesterday’s post and noticed a few typos.  I left them there, as testimony to what bad shape I was in.

Oh, just listen to me whine!  I am embarrassing!  For heaven’s sake, I went for two walks yesterday, a short one before work today, and I worked on my feet for eight hours.  I am hardly on, you should pardon the expression, my last legs.  I should be grateful for the body I have and for the things it lets me do.  Of course I am, so you can stop playing that miniature violin (you know who you are).

Where was I?  Ah yes, trying to make some blog post, any blog post.  Perhaps a picture would pep things up.

I knew it wasn’t Friday.

A little Bela and Boris to brighten our day (that is Lugosi and Karloff, in case you needed to be reminded).  It was a rather Mondayish Tuesday for me, since I took Monday off.  I expect to remain confused about what day it is for the rest of the week.  These things happen.

In the meantime, I see I am over 200 words.  Score!  We’ll see how I do tomorrow, on Wuss-out Wednesday.  If I remember that it is Wednesday.

 

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Post Boilermaker II

Posted on July 11, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

When we last left our heroine (that is me; I suppose I could have said blogger, to be clear), she was huffing and puffing towards the finish line of the Boilermaker 15K.  As I  got closer, I pushed myself to go faster and faster.  At least it felt faster to me.  I daresay to the outside observer it was not so impressive.

I crossed the finish line making terrible noises as I tried to breathe.  The Boilermaker volunteers were right there.  Two women were on either side of me, guiding me to a wheelchair. I was grateful to sit down.

“Lift your feet,” they told me, and I was surprised to find that I could.  They wheeled me into the first aid tent to a cot.  How embarrassing!  I leaned on the nice man that  helped me from the wheelchair onto the cot.

Then I was surrounded by people, taking my vitals, bringing me water, preparing me for IV fluids. I felt them take my sneakers and socks off an putting cool cloths on my feet.  They too my headband off.  I asked for a cloth for my eyes since the sweat was irritating them.

They found my blood pressure high, asked me about dizziness and chest pain, and tried to put in an IV.  My veins are usually pretty prominent, but I was a bit dehydrated at the time and it took them a couple of tries.  I laid back and let them do what they wanted, although I was a bit embarrassed.

I started to feel better soon.  After the contents of the IV were in my veins, they took my vitals and found them better.  They let me sit up and sip some water before allowing me to put my socks and shoes back on and proceed to the after party.  They were a little concerned that I had safe transport home.  I tlod them tjat if I got to my car and felt iffy that I would call someone.  I did not foresee such an eventuality and indeed it was not necessary.

I’m thinking this post is not as interesting as yesterday’s, but these things happen.  I am still recovering from my Boilermaker experience, so I will use that as an excuse.  As always, I will try for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

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Post-Boilermaker Post

Posted on July 10, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I ran the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY this morning.  Very slowly.  In fact,  I got slower every mile, except for the last little bit, which I inadvisedly tried to sprint.  I had to do it, although it was kind of the nail in the coffin (I do enjoy macabre imagery).

Anybody who is hoping for a cheery overview of a premiere event, this is not it.  The Boilermaker is a great, a wonderful, a unique event (and I do not use the term unique lightly).  I had fun, chatted with some nice people, and was glad to be a part of it.  But I had a little trouble. Since this is my blog about me, and I am going to tell it as I experienced it.

Things went pretty well for the first four miles.  Breathing was a little difficult due to humidity.  However, the temperature was not too hot; the overcast skies helped.  We felt a few sprinkles of rain before the race started, but that went away, and no thunder rumbled.

A couple of times I got a little stitch in my right side.  I lifted that arm over my head in a stretch and tried to breathe more deeply.  So far so good.  Then my left knee and my left hip started in on me.  The hip was more of a problem.  It hurt!  I kept saying, “Oh crap!”  Nobody paid me any mind to which I took no offense.  We all have our problems.

The last three miles were bad.  I had been saying to myself, “Just run your own pace, run your own race”  almost since we started.  Eventually I started saying to myself, “Just keep going.”  The spectators cheering us on helped.  My fellow runners, too encouraged me.

For a while I ran next to an older gentleman.  His walk was the pace of my run.  He told me how he had broken his foot one year but did not go to the doctor till after the Boilermaker, because the doctor would have told him not to run.  Wow!  At least all my bones were intact!

The last 1.3 miles took forever!  “You’re almost there!” they kept telling me, to which I replied, “Promises, promises!”  Then I figured if I had enough breath to be a wise-ass, I must be doing better than I thought.

In these races, be they 5K or 15, I try to keep myself from starting my final sprint too soon.  I have done that at the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls more than once, and it is not pretty (not that I am especially pretty by that point in a race anyways).  Today I questioned my ability to sprint or even speed up at all, but I firmly told myself not to worry about it.  Just finish!  That was my goal.

As I said in the first paragraph, I somehow found it in myself to sprint at the end.  Go faster, go faster, I urged myself, and my poor old body responded as best it could.  For one reason, I was so close to end I wanted to get there as soon as possible!

And it was not pretty.  However, I see I am over 500 words.  That is a long post for me.  I will stop blogging now.  I may tell the rest of my tale tomorrow.  But no promises.

 

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Pre-Boilermaker Slacking

Posted on July 9, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had my last pre-Boilermaker run this morning.  A little over a mile and a half, 22 minutes (incidentally, my favorite number).  Then I pretty much slacked for the rest of the day.  Eventually I wrote a few post cards and walked them to the post office, taking the long way back for a 22 minute walk, a little over one mile.  I did a load of laundry, surprisingly not during either the run or the walk (as regular readers know, my favorite multi-task).  I did the dishes.

Now I sit, lounged on my couch, drinking more water (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, they say) and wondering if it really is essential to eat pasta the night before a big race.  I know it is traditional to “carb up” at such times, but is it science?  Or is it merely psychological?  You see, it is very warm for me to think about cooking something to eat.  Additionally, I do not want to dirty more dishes.

Me, pondering the worth of effort in the heat.

I thought a picture would pep things up. This is me in Love’s Labour’s Lost last summer with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  It was pretty hot then, too.  My costume was supposed to have another layer, but there was no way I could stand it.  It was impractical anyways, since I played two roles and had to change.  But I digress.

Getting back to the Boilermaker 15K in Utica tomorrow, I am looking forward to it, despite my usual trepidations of parking, timing, and should I really be eating spaghetti tonight.  I hope to have fun and write a blog post about it.  In the meantime I am going to bill this as a Slacker Saturday (although my digression into theatre may make a Non-Sequitur Saturday eligible) and drive on.  Happy Saturday,  everyone!

 

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(B)Lame it on the Boilermaker

Posted on July 8, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am inordinately late making my Lame Post Friday post.  I made the conscious decision not to post last night.  I looked at the blank space on the Add New Post screen and said, “I don’t want to.” Perhaps it was reprensible of me as a self-proclaimed daily blogger, but these things happen.

I had suffered from a headache all day at my not heinous but also not air-conditioned job.  A cool shower felt good, but I could not just lounge around.  I had to go to the MVHS Health and Wellness Expo at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) to pick up my packet for the Boilermaker 15K in Utica tomorrow (tomorrow?  Yikes!).

The Expo is a big deal and very well attended.  I had to contend with a goodly amount of traffic, which can be intimidating when you are not sure where you are going.  Yes, I have been to MVCC before but not since the mid-teens (that is the 20teens, not my teens).  I have never been much for crowd scenes,  especially when I am by myself.  However, one does what one must.

I might as well just admit that the Boilermaker has always intimidated me to a certain degree.  It’s not running 9.3 miles I fear; I can rely on my own stubbornness to get me through that.  It is just such a large event.  Will I find a place to park?  Will I make it through the long lines at the porta-potties before the race?  Will I be able to navigate the really large crowd at the after-party? These are the questions that haunt me.

The actual running is less of a problem.  I lament the crowds, but I cannot deny that all those people cheering us on can be a big help.  I like to read the signs, high five kids, dance to the bands… It is a fun run.

So now I have talked myself back into looking forward to it.  I expect to go back and forth as the day wears on.  No matter.  It will give me something to do while I hydrate.

 

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Another Pre-Boilermaker Run

Posted on July 7, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I melted again today, although with no discernible difference in my waistline.  However, I did manage to go for a short run and will now attempt a Running Commentary Post.

I had been taking myself all day that it would be a good idea to run, but I was naturally reluctant to do so once I got home.  In my defense, heat and humidity!  I spent the greater portion of the day feeling sweat pour down my body.  Ugh.  But the Boilermaker 15K is a mere three days away.  I must maintain.

First I called my Mom and Dad.  Mom said perhaps I should not run in this weather.  Dad thought I might try it and switch to walking if it was too much.  Since I only contemplated a short run, I decided to try.

And now I will pause to bring up something that always bothers me:  when you say you can’t do something and somebody smugly replies, “Well, not with that attitude.”  I have probably alluded to this before, but I will repeat it.  Almost every failure I have had, and there have been many, some epic, I have gone into with great confidence.  On the other hand, many times I have thought, I probably can’t do this but let me just try.  And I do it, surprising myself as well as my detractors.

It should come as no surprise that I succeeded in my attempt to run today.  I thought, one mile, fifteen minutes, slow pace.  My pace was faster than a 15-minute mile although I made no effort at speed.  As I went, I thought 20 minutes might be good.  Oh well, maybe 17.

I made it for 20 minutes 31 seconds, 1.49 miles.  I suppose I could have made it a full two and a half miles, but I felt pretty pleased with what I did.

Now I have to start worrying about the myriad practical details involved in running the Boilermaker:  getting my packet from the Runner’s Expo, which involves finding said Expo; putting on the right clothes the morning of, eating the proper breakfast, getting to the starting line after deciding the best time to get to the starting line, finding a parking space; and through it all hydrating, hydrating, hydrating.  I haven’t even mentioned getting to bed at a good time, getting to sleep, and waking up on time.  I think there are probably a few things I have forgotten I need to do.  I am not even sure I remember how many days there are between Thursday and Sunday.

 

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Boiling or Boilermaker?

Posted on July 6, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wuss-out Wednesday follows Tired Tuesday, we all know that.  If you didn’t know, you do now.  I’m going to blame the weather.

I think I am!

I took a walk this morning but did not run after work.  I ran yesterday for three miles, thinking it would be my last long run before the Boilermaker 15K.  I hope to walk every day and have one or two short runs in the next three days.  Only three day?  Yikes!

Now is about the time I ask myself why I signed up for this silly race anyways. I should perhaps mention that this has happened to me every time I have run the Boilermaker (can’t remember how many times that is;  I would have to count my Boilermaker glasses).  This year, of course, everything is different.

It seems I had some good reasons when I signed up.  I do not currently remember them.   I registered pretty much the minute registration opened.  A short time later the palliative care nurse called me and said we had to talk.  I know what palliative care is (my sisters had to look it up).  Thus started a very bad time in my life.

So this year my running the 15K feels all tied up in my grief and depression over my husband’s death.  I don’t know that I think something magical is going to happen as I cross the finish line.  I think mostly I feel grateful that the race gave me motivation to keep running.  Exercise has helped me a lot.

I guess I have not entirely wussed out today, as I see I am over 250 words.  Perhaps tomorrow I will take one of those shorter runs I mentioned and attempt a Running Commentary Post.  It is All Boilermaker All The Time Week after all.

 

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Tired But Patriotic, I Hope

Posted on July 5, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Tired Tuesday on the Fourth of July.

That is all that comes to my mind to type in.  I did not want to make another late post so took my Tablet up to bed with me, trusting that words would follow.  And here I am, one finger typing because I neglected to bring up a stylus and am too lazy to go back downstairs and get one.

I did mention yesterday that I have not given up whining.

That year I had not given up wine.

Here is a picture from July 2021, of the wine I was bringing to a celebration with my friends Phyllis and Jim.  See?  Red, white, and blue.  I can get seasonal on occasion.  Earlier today I ate red, white, and blue with strawberries, blueberries, and Cool Whip.  Yum!

My neighbors seem to be getting into the holiday spirit with firecrackers.  They did so last night as well (at least, it may have been different neighbors; I did not investigate the matter).  They did not keep it up all night, so that was all right.

Brewer, patriot…

I just looked through all the July pictures in my Media Library, and this was the only other patriotic picture I could find.  I had neglected to purchase any Sam Adams beer for the holiday so made do with iced coffee in a Sam Adams glass.  I had a tradition of drinking Sam Adams beer on the Fourth of July for a number of years.  That was before I became such a wine aficionado (I always thought that word should have two f’s you know, like affection).

Ooh, look, I am over 250 words!  Not bad for a Tired Tuesday Post.  Happy Independence Day, everyone!

 

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Ran Myself Ragged, But Didn’t Run

Posted on July 4, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Last night I felt so tired from my after-work gyrations and reflecting that I had today (July 4) off, I lazily put away my Tablet and went to bed.  After all, I continued to justify to myself, I was unlikely to wake up with a headache, since I am going wine-less (but not whine-less) till after the Boilermaker 15K.  As it happens, not all headaches are due to wine.  However, it is not a bad one, and I expect it will go away as the morning progresses.

Where was I?  Ah yes, a late Monstrous Monday Post.  First, perhaps, a word or two about the previously mentioned gyrations.

“No! Monsters first!”

Maybe one monster.

I got home and immediately got on the phone to take care of a couple of things I had neglected.  Never mind what.   It’s not that interesting, and I am quite disinclined to emphasize the extent to which I do not have my act together.  I ran one errand, still dirty from work (for which you are welcome to judge me), and returned home to realize it had stopped raining long ago enough to make lawn mowing eligible.

Me hacking away at the overgrowth.

Regular readers may recall that I use a non-power mower.  It makes for a pretty good work out.  Since I had walked in the morning but not run that afternoon, I praised myself for the exertion (hey, I have to keep myself going anyway I can).  A soapy shower felt good after that.

My stomach, urging me to the grocery store.

I sat down for a while, but my body was soon reminding me I had not eaten.  One must stay nourished, I suppose.  I dragged myself to the grocery store.  As it happened, it was a great time to go.  The crowd had already gotten their Fourth of July supplies and left.  I got everything my list plus a couple of treats, which I felt I had earned.

“Did somebody say treats?”

Now I have made my Monday blog post, I can get on with my Tuesday gyrations.  Once again, thank you for tuning in.

 

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