Well, Marcella was happy and decided that since I'm not such a beginner any more that she would find new ways to "kill me" (her words, not mind. Sometimes that Argentinian to English language barrier is quite humorous.). She asked me if I played basketball and run fast. I said, "I don't really play basketball. I used to play H-O-R-S-E and one-on-one with my son when he was small enough to beat. I don't run fast. I jog slow." Apparently, the question was rhetorical because she ran off and came back with a basketball, a flat plastic rope ladder, and rubber tubing with handles at each end. I didn't know what she had in mind, but I was scared slightly out of my mind. First, she had me run around the half court and fussed at me about my form. (I checked my jogging form this morning and it was fine. I think it was either the shoes or the fact that I was running faster than I jog that had me running on my toes.) Then, she had me do suicide runs. If you don't know what that is Google it. She had me do wall push ups between sets. I was surprised at how well I did them. Marcella even joined me every now and again so I would push harder to the wall. (I think she isn't supposed to sweat, she only raced me on the last passes.) I did pretty well and she said she would like to join me running the trail one day. (She's not a morning person, so I know that ain't ever happening.) Then she laid the plastic rope ladder down and had me run to the end with my knees high like it was a tire obstacle course and sprint back grab the tubing with the handles and torture my arms and legs with them. My biceps are sore this morning and I am just now remembering why. You can find all kinds of ways to hurt yourself with those things. About now, I am really sweating (not as much as when I jog, though.). I had told Marcella that I wear a cap (she thinks I should not hide my face with it) to keep the sweat out of my eyes, but she had never pushed me aerobically enough to see what I was talking about. She laughed and with her Argentinian accent said, "You are right, you really do..What did you say?...sweat like a pig." If she ever joins me on a jog, she will really laugh. Any ways, about now she throws the basketball at me. This is when I realized that I leave my glasses in the car when I run or exercise at the gym because if you get sweat on them you can't see out of them any ways. I couldn't tell where the ball was until it was a foot away, but I have good reflexes and caught the ball every time she threw it to me. Unfortunately, I couldn't judge how far away the hoop was and only made one basket in about 15 shots, but I hit the rim almost every time. Marcella never got one and she wasn't half blind, but she only tried 4 or 5 shots. It was a fun work out with the exception of the abs that always follow. She didn't poke me in the belly this time and actually did some of them with me. I don't know what got into her, she usually just watches me. She griped about my posture and curvy spine again. She can't believe I never wore a brace to correct it. She's convinced that strengthening it will fix it. It might improve it, but scoliosis can't be undone that way. The only weight training we did was for the dorsal muscles. I actually really enjoyed the workout. I had no idea that I could still do suicide runs. I haven't done those since middle school.
So, the next morning I went down to the trail thinking I would try jogging 4 miles. I was thinking about teacher training starting next week and how I was going to miss getting to be average weight and probably miss being able to jog five mile on this stupid trail too before the end of summer. When I parked I thought, "If I can do suicide runs for the first time in 30 years, I might be able to jog 5 miles straight for the first time in 23 years. If I don't make it, I'll just walk the rest." So I started jogging, still undecided as to how far I would shoot for. I talk to myself and sometimes pray when I'm jogging. The first 1/2 mile and the last 1/2 mile are always the hardest. This time I was sure that the worse that would happen is that I would beat my record of three miles on the trail. The first mile was almost easy after I got past the first half. I passed the 1.5 mile marker that I usually turn around and run back. The next half mile took a lot of talking to myself. I thought about turning around and going for four miles when I got to the two mile marker, but I kept going to the 2.5 marker and turned around and went back. This is when I realized that the back of the markers tell you how far you've gone without having to use any math because it's a 5 mile trail. I was so excited to hit three miles. Any thing beyond that was going to be a win for me. I got to the 4 mile marker, I decided just to try to get to the 4.5 marker. If I could get that far I knew by experience that my will power would help me to get that last half mile. I made it to the 4.5 marker and this is when I really had to talk my way home. "There is no way you are going to be beat by a half mile." That kind of thing. I made it to the last bridge and tripped on a loose board because I wasn't lifting my legs high enough at this point and caught myself on the rail and kept running. I thought, "wow, that was close." I almost had to tell you guys that I jogged 4.99 miles. I gave myself a pat on the back because I reached my 5 mile goal and am almost sure that if I die in an accident my last word won't be something I need to apologize for. That trip was really close to being a complete wipeout. That would have been a very unfunny injury to report.
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