Pronounced "sow-in," Samhain is the time during which life and death walk hand in hand. On this day, the veil that separates the worlds (our plane of living and the plane of the dead) is at its thinnest. Many things are possible on this holiday. The God has arrived at the edge of live and is conceived as a seed that will be reborn soon. The Goddess in the form of the Crone rules, teaching us lessons and allowing our ancestors to guide us.
Samhain is one of the most maligned and least understood holidays. Contrary to the modern media images of Satanic worship and animal sacrifice, Wiccans believe that this is a time to remember and honor those who have gone before us.
Many of our current day Halloween activities are taken from this holiday. The jack-o-lanterns that we carve and place outside are evolutions of the ancient practice of leaving candles in windows to guide the dead to the underworld. Handing out candy to children was gleamed from the practice of leaving food out to nourish ancestors as they traveled the path to the underworld.
Since the veil is indeed thin, this is the ideal holiday to contact ancestors and initiate communication. Because it is the Wiccan "new year" it is also a time to cut away practices and behaviors that inhibit our growth, and the Crone is present to assist in removing that which is unhealthy from our lives. It is also a time to plan for the future through divination practices. Appropriate rituals include contacting ancestors within sacred circle, honoring the lives of those who have gone before us, releasing destructive habits, divination activities, and all transformation rituals.
New year, new you. Or, new me. Concerning my running endeavors, let's just say this is a "rebuilding year". AFter 7 years of running, I think I surpassed my first marathon time by possibly 3 minutes. The MCM XXX was about 75 minutes worse then my best marathon time in 2001. Before the race, there was a Tylenol ad in the program that read "Pain is Temporary, Quitting is Forever." That kept me going. That, my curiously clear lungs and sinuses, my almost back in shape legs and back, the blue skies above and my fabulous friends and family.
This race was CROWDED. An extra 10,000 people this year. 30,000 signed up, and 28,000+ ran. This meant that the first 5 miles were slow going. Tara, Meghan and I did our best to maintain about a 12 minute pace. It was hard to go any faster, and we had to weave around folks just to do that. Even though my first race was with a run/walk group, in this size crowd, I have to admit this years groups were rather annoying. They would yell "walk!" and stop dead in front of you. Bad. But that's okay.
It seemed all uphill until Key Bridge. We saw Kristie Greco and her roommate Jamie at mile 2. They took our coats (and pom poms!). By the time we got to Georgetown, Meghan broke out ahead of us. It was a good spot for that. The streets got wider. It seemed like it wasn't as crowded this year...but maybe that was because our start time was 50 minutes after the first gun went off.
We ran into Tara's dad as we were leaving M Street. Then we carried on. I kept looking for Andrew in his red Phillies cap, but I couldn't find him, even though he apparently crossed the finish line after me and somewhere along the lines, based on Adria's online tracking, he passed us. Maybe it was during a bathroom break? I stopped four times to pee. That's a time killer. I think there were more water and powerade stations this year.
We saw Alyssa before Rock Creek. We kept looking for Jill and other seemommyrunners. I Gu'd up every hour, on the hour. I think the sugars did wonders for my legs. Not so great on my stomach though. But like I said, my nose and lungs felt great, so that was cool. It was at about this point that I set my brain to "do it better next time." I'm still a cheerleader at heart, and I can even motivate myself at times.
Things were getting tough around mile 12. That was basically my longest training run, so I can understand why. I was trying to wave Tara on, but to no avail. She said we'd run together. SO that meant I had to keep going. At that moment, we looked up and saw the greatest thing ever: a gigantose professionally made sign from Sully and Aidan! I remembered Aidan doing a spell check about a week prior, but I thought they were just pulling out the sharpies! The sign was awesome, and we sprinted at least a block up to it. SUlly and Aidan were there with Kevin, Harry, StinkyInky, Lola, Lance and Dave's friend Dave's two sons from Juneau, Alaska. There were Bloody Mary's (I had 2 sips) and oranges and muffins. Harry started crying when he saw me, so I got to hug him. I missed hugging Kevin, but got another chance about a mile ahead. Kevin and Harry pulled up with the baby jogger while we were at a corner receiving first aid (lip balm for my arm) from Jamie and Kristie.
Saw some of Tara's friends a little bit further, and then her mom. Stopped to pee and stretch at Mile 15, then headed to Haines Point. UGH! Quiet. Boring. We ran alone at this point. The only sounds were people worried about "The Bridge." This is the 14th Street Bridge, where if you don't cross it by a certain time, the bus comes to pick you up. However, a friend, Ahram, hopped on the bus in 2001...and they give you lunch! That was sounding good, but I new we didn't need to worry about the bus.
So, I took some candy from strangers, some Tylenol from the Marines and left Haines Point for The Bridge. The Bridge is concrete. I messed up my sciatic nerve running on concrete in early 2000 or 2001 at the GW Parkway Classic, so I decided the smart thing was to do a walk break. I can also justify nearly anything. But I still heard the echo of "Quitting is Forever" so I trudged on. I called Kevin to tell him I passed the 20 mile mark. Then I hung up. Couldn't talk.
Post bridge, Paul Murray yelled my name, so I chatted for a second and then kept going. Running again. The course looped through Crystal City around 22-24, so I saw Tara again and yelled for her.
I was strating to hurt though. My arches hurt a little, but my spirit hurt more. The negative talk really got going. My breathing stopped. The way home seemed closer than the finish line. But I trudged on, not making eye contact for fear someone would yell my name and I would cry.
I took a call from Konnie. Chatted about work. Then I saw Paul and his Navy Federal gang so I ran to catch up. He offered to run, and while I was pretty unhappy at that point, I accepted the offer, figuring it was the only way to get myself done quickly. We ran to Joan Jett, both on stereo and Karaoke style for about 2 miles. Before I knew it, it was mile 26. Paul was asked to leave the course since he didn't have a bib. I thanked him and sprinted, slowly, up the hill. 200 yards. 80 feet. I knew the course, so I paced myself. The course changed. Finish line was closer. I sprinted across it, then nearly burst into tears, so happy to be DONE!!!
I foudn Kevin and Meg and Harry a few yards away.Happy to see them. Harry was thrilled to see me. He'd been a good boy all day. He earned a medal, so he put it on, grabbed my bottle of water and shared the rest of my Cliff Bar.
Tara finished about 15 minutes ahead of me. Andrew wasn't sure of his time. Meghan did great! I think I finished in the middle of the seemommyrun pack. Jill finished well after me, but apparently her friend Amy was part of a collision at Mile 2---but they made it to the end anyway.
I feel great now. No real aches and pains, but I suspect I may lose the right toenail. I do have a gash in my left side. I think it was from the cellphone band I wore until Mile 13. Oh well. I am ready for the next one. Dublin 2010? Or maybe another MCM so that this time I can actually finish ahead of Kermi (he passed me with Miss Piggy, a new entry, at Mile 13) and the juggler (who dropped his balls after passing me on the bridge).
I am so greatful I have the world's best husband and the greatest friends on the planet...and a very understanding little boy, who did his best to figure out why mommy ran right past him.
But, Harry got to enjoy a day of his own on the 31st. He stayed home from school and went for a bike ride to the bagel place where we got to spend some more time with Aunt Meg. Grandmom came over shortly after, and we also got to see Tara again. We played around the house all afternoon, "talking on the phone" and practicing jumping. Lance came over at 5 and we were all set for the Halloween Parade.
The Hart's, the peopel we bought our house from, appeared right before we headed over. They brought their little chicken, Eve. She was the cutest! The Monkey and the Pirate followed and we headed to Quincy Avenue/Road/ Street were the parade started. By the time we winded down Monroe, we ran into Tara and some neighbors we knew, Belinda, Anita & Tres & their family, William's family, the people who held Oktoberfest, and a bunch of others. Everyone was taking pictures, and it looked like one of the scenes from ET or Mr. Mom when all of the kids are out Trick or Treating. I always wanted to be a part of that!
Harry got some special treats from Anita next door. He actually walked up to their house himself, quickly figuring things out. We then went to the first house across the street. Harry proceeded to step inside and close the door---with Mommy, Lance and Lola on the outside! Luckily, everyone thought it was funny and we moved on. We stuck to 6 houses on the Cul-de-sac, and Lanec and Harry quit to indulge in some fruit snacks. Good thing we'd already met the people who had supplied the treats!
Harry was happy to carry his embroidered pumpkin "purse" from Aunt Toni. Luckily, he has been practicing the purse carrying, so it came in handy. He can also count to 1 (3 actually, but he actually says "one"), so some of the time he took only 1 candy, and even put it in his bag (some of the time). He had a blast, but by 6:39 wanted to do nothing more than sleep...which he did for the next 12 hours without a sound, waking up to find toys that our dearly departed had left for him (from Pier 1) on their way to the Underworld.
Happy Samhain.
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