Marathon Update: Week 6

Infamous rapper Eminem's biopic was called '8 Mile.'  A pretty good flick, really, if you consider it really could have been quite bad, given the soap operatic nature of his life theretofore.  This is apropos of nothing, other than as I managed to fold my sweaty self into my car after Saturday's group training run, I considered the soap operatic quality of my own pursuits in my own overblown mind-- even my biopic flashed across it's screen (IMAX, of course), entitled: '7 Mile.'

Yes, this past weekend we worked it up to 7 miles (more on my pace group in the weeks to come).  I myself had bronchitis, a chronic condition that-- when it chooses to suddenly knock on the door and want to borrow a cup of sugar-- reminds me just how valuable being able to breathe freely really is.  But during the run, I felt relatively great and familiar and also reminded that some wheezing and hacking never hurt anyone, especially when I know it will eventually pass.

(Eminem's mentor, hip-hop artiste Dr. Dre, had a multi-platinum, Top 10 album called 'The Chronic.'  Again, apropos of nothing, other than discovering in my running adventures that everything about me is chronic.  Yo.)

In even bigger news, however, for my chronically inflamed knees I finally crossed that river Denial, ventured into the arthritis/incontinence/general-decline section of the drugstore, and bought some individual liquid ice packs that drape nicely over each as I put my feet up and read a fine novella titled, "WHY Am I Doing This Again?"  (But, at least no more making the most of bags of frozen peas which would suddenly burst open at the most inopportune times last year.  Yum, dusty peas from under the couch.)  Unfortunately, with first use I missed the warning label on these packs... you know, the warning label that reads: 'With sustained direct contact, this will rip your skin off if you don't put something like a towel between your skin and this.'  Luckily, I prefer pants to any other article of bottom-half clothing, although my clueless lack of vanity goes wasted as my raw and skinned knees remain innocuously hidden from the public and I am subject to no askew glances whatsoever.

I joke, of course.  This entire project, as regards my getting back in shape, is all in good fun, and the HIV/AIDS community I'm also doing it for by and large has a lot more at stake and much more to contend with.  Life and death stuff.  You know. 

But truthfully my knocked-knees are quaking in their boots because I've so far raised $265 towards the $3,800 minimum I must reach by August 25 (7 weeks from now) in order to qualify to run for AIDS Project Los Angeles in the Florence Marathon-- a finely-tuned, bionic woman by then or not.  By this time last year (and granted I started earlier last year), I'd raised $1845 from over 30 sources, and that was before ever staging an official fundraiser event.  I was told about this... Tougher the second time around?  For who?  'Ain't nuthin' but a G thang'.  Almost four 'G's, as a matter of fact!

Thanks to each of you who've contributed so far, and so quickly-- it's only because of your faith and generosity that I've been driven to single-handedly keep the ice-pack industry in business over the past 2 weeks.  It's only because of you that men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS are provided the services that are vital to them, and similars in other communities see what is possible.  The place to go for the rest of you who might want to know more, or give of yourself again, is www.aidsmarathon.com.  Click on 'LA', and enter my runner # 4492.  Or just go directly to my webpage: http://www.aidsmarathon.com/participant.asp?runner=LA-4492&EventCode=FL06.  Your contribution is of course tax-deductible, yet priceless.

A great sage, Eminem, knows:

"But the beat goes on
Duh duh doe, duh doe, dah dah dah dah...

So here I go, it's my shot
Feet fail me not
Cuz maybe the only opportunity that I got...

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
Cuz opportunity comes once in a lifetime, yo'

...Lose yourself"

Grazie !