Monday, March 15, 2010

Blowout Weekend

This weekend was a blowout -- literally. I was set to run in the New York Road Runners 8000 meters on Saturday morning, in a reprise of the race from last year that jump started my running and weight loss (and where my father in law bet me $100 that I would skip it; he lost). This weekend was forecast to be rainy, but that is to be expected -- last year it seemingly rained every race weekend, and after all of this snow, what harm could a little rain do? Turns out a lot.

Saturday morning I woke up at 6 a.m., and it was rainy and windy. Very rainy too, not drizzle, with winds around 20 mph. 30 degrees, too. Hello, snooze button! Right back over and to sleep, no race for me. As I later found out I was not alone -- only 2600 people finished the race, and most races have north of 5000 finishers.

By the time I woke up and got going, it was still raining and still windy. In fact, so nasty, we couldn't really get out and do anything. A day in and around the house (I did cook a nice sun-dried tomato crusted chicken breast with an arugula and tomatoes on top.) The wind made going outside a crazy idea.


Sunday came and the devastation from the storm was everywhere. Most noticeably, a large tree outside my window was cracked in half. That is about a 30 foot tall tree. But, wow, on the road up to my place, an old tree blew over. I have no idea how old the tree was, and it was sad to see blown over and lifeless. Amazingly, the emergency crews had already cleared the tree from the road.


Luckily, no one was hurt around here, but Westchester county lost a tremendous number of trees and many folks lost power. And the streets looked like a tornado had come through -- branches, leaves, pine needles everywhere.

A good weekend to stay inside!

19 comments:

  1. I had a 20 miler on Sat and had to come in and change after 15 miles. I was cold and soaked. My basement is a little lake! It's still pouring. No run for me today. Saturday's run traumatized me! Hrrrrrrr

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  2. Sounds like you made a good call. I hate losing trees, and hate having to cut them down if they are big and old.

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  3. I think you made the right choice on this one. What a massive tree. It must have taken a lot of force to knock that one down.

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  4. I just don't get the whole sun-dried tomatoes thing.

    So you're in the old Hotel Gramatan property.

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  5. Wow! That must have been a massive storm. Good decision.
    and cute pic w/your lil' girl;-)

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  6. yikes! I think you made the right call skipping the race, who knows what could have come down around you.

    The chicken sounds tasty, and might I say, healthy!

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  7. There will be other opportunities. Awesome post on "Achieve Greatness" - You really hit the mark.

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  8. Hi NY Wolve,
    I would of done the same thing. That storm looks like it was wicked:) Cute pictures of your little Wolve:) I hope that you have a wonderful week!!

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  9. Definitely a good time to stay inside! My little sisters missed getting smooshed by a tree on their way to the bus stop last year by a mere couple of minutes!

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  10. Wow! Definitely a good weekend to stay in. Your little girl is such a cutie!

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  11. That is way too massive of a tree to go down. Glad you stayed in!

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  12. I was one of those who skipped the race due to weather. I can do wind, rain, or cold, but not all three.

    And unfortunately had to skip my run Sunday as well. More of a shut-out weekend than a blow-out...

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  13. Good call staying in! Hope that storm is all gone and that all is well for everyone in your area. That dinner sounds great, but that's because I love sun-dried tomatoes. Have a great week!

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  14. I've been hearing about your weather all weekend..I would have just kept sleeping too...sleep or wind and rain? Not a hard decision, especially with trees falling down all over the place! You're smart! Your daughter looks so much bigger than the swimming picture, she's a little button!

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  15. Yeah, it sounds like Westchester and maybe parts of Jersey bore the brunt of the storm. I can't believe the devastation. Good weekend to stay indoors.

    BTW, thanks for your comment on my blog post! I'll try to approach my running more as a hobby than as a lifestyle from now on. We'll see how that goes.

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  16. Wow, that was a big tree, I bet that was painful to lose. Definitely a good day to sleep in...what crazy weather you're having! Your littest one is just the cutest ever!!! I really miss those ages! Have a great rest of the week!

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  17. Checkin out your blog...it's weird, I hear about new england being blasted with storms, and I just got sun burnt today in Vermont, glad everything worked out.

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  18. Wow, the pictures of the tree are amazing. Glad you didn't have to go out in that weather this year to collect your $100. Smart to stay inside!

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  19. The weekend's weather was nasty! I ran a race on Sunday, but Sunday was actually a lot better than Saturday. Too bad about the tree, but the tiny tyke looks so cute in front of it!

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