Run, don’t walk – or, you know, walk – to donate to ‘Team Garlic’
My mom walks faster than she runs. This seems impossible based on the very definition of those two things, but it is true. During a road race, her hybrid style of mixing each means that she is actually resting when she is running. It makes zero sense, but you know what? It works.
It didn’t always work. It was maybe five years ago when my
mom entered some race in my hometown of East Brunswick,
and was literally the last person to finish. Like, the front bumper of the
police car trailing the race was nudging her in the butt, the police megaphone
yelling, “Please run, miss, so we can all go home.” Then my mom would start
running and the police would say, “OK, that’s our bad. Please walk.”
Since then my mom has honed her style through extensive
training. If there were a movie about my mom perfecting her routine, it would
include a 45-minute montage of her run-walking up the Philly monument steps,
but instead of jumping up and down with her hands in the air when she reached
the top like Rocky, she would sit down and start drinking chocolate milk, which
is what she drinks when she is done her workouts. The movie would be called
“Judy: The Journey” and I give it five stars.
Earlier this year, my mom made the admirable,
bucket-list-type decision to enter the NYC Marathon. She put a lot of thought
into it, discussed it extensively with my dad and, although she was afraid and
feeling inadequate and unprepared, she took the plunge and entered.
Then, a few months later when both sets of parents were
visiting us here in Arizona,
my mom, already knee-deep in training, mentioned to my father-in-law that she
had entered the NYC Marathon, and joked that he should enter too. Without
missing a beat he said, “Yes. Yes I will do it.” The ratio of thought put into
this decision between the two of them was 1,000-to-1 thought particles in favor
of my mom, and if memory serves me well, my father-in-law committed to this
life-altering event while processing LPGA golf highlights on TV and throwing a
tennis ball to our dog. My mother-in-law threw her hands in the air in
frustration, having not planned to spend the remainder of 2014 supporting her
husband’s extensive marathon training routine.
My father-in-law’s commitment was likely moot anyway, since
entering the NYC Marathon is not something you can do on a whim. You either
have to qualify or enter through an organization. My mom, for example, is a
member of Team in Training, a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society-based
organization that supports runners, walkers, triathletes, etc. and targets its
fundraising for cancer research. It was unlikely TNT had any spots remaining,
but my mom gave Tony the contact info anyway.
Less than 24 hours later, he was in, to the surprise of no one.
My mom had trained with TNT before for a half-marathon, and
was familiar with, and inspired by, its mission. For Tony, TNT was initially a
means to an end, but after meeting with their team’s coach and hearing the
personal accounts of the loss and triumph associated with blood cancer, felt
more committed than ever to the marathon and his fundraising efforts.
They’re a team, Judy and Tony - “Team Garlic” for reasons
that are obvious to followers of this blog. Here is their team page. Maybe you
will want to donate to them, for a good cause, certainly, but also for
entertainment purposes.
You see, Team in Training is serious about, well, its teams
and training. They have a rather regimented schedule of trainings and team
meetings. Their coaches and trainers are experienced and they consider it
important to utilize their vast network of support and encouragement. My mom is
on board with this. Tony is … let’s just say he’s not exactly renowned for
adhering to a routine. It’s more likely he considers himself a coach than it
is he will utilize the support system at his disposal. Also, the NYC Marathon
is in November. “PLENTY OF TIME.” – Tony
In all seriousness, I am super proud of these two
60-somethings for entering the biggest race in the world so they can run
(run/walk) 26.2 miles in the effort of raising money for cancer research. They
deserve your support, and if you can find it in your heart and wallet to
donate, it’ll be worth it if only for the stories that will emerge from the
ensuing months.
I mean, you’ve got the fastest walker this side of the
Mississippi, whose fuel is chocolate milk and revenge on the East Brunswick
Police Department, paired with a man who once ran a half marathon with a hernia
and a torn calf ligament and who will likely have to be reminded at some point
in the next few months of the “exact date of this thing.”
Please also support my mother-in-law. Emotionally.
Thank you.
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