on the iPod: "chocolate" -- snow patrol
My weekend plate was full. Overflowing. Like catfish buffet full. Between running the Cow Paddy, throwing a party for 1200+ high school juniors and seniors, and getting in one final training run, I had to exchange my plate for a platter. As of this writing some 16 hours into the work week, my head is still a daze of confusion and sleep deprivation. Not to fret, however, because my third marathon is only 5 short days and approximately 600 miles away in Nashville, Tennessee. We're leaving Thursday afternoon and as soon as my SUV hits the road, I won't have a single care in the world. In the interim, i'll be in that buffet line, piling on more junk that needs attention. And a few hushpuppies on the side.
After running the Cow Paddy on Friday night (night races are always fun, but a little bit weird at the same time), Mrs. Murie and I met on the downtown Bentonville square for our final training run before Nashville -- a 10 miler. The change of venue from Fayetteville to Bentonville was threefold: I needed to be in Benton County because Mrs. Pugh and I were coordinating prom at BHS, we knew that we could get in good hill work to prep for the terrain of the marathon, and Mrs. Murie wanted to go to Kennedy Coffee. Have said that, the only reason that even remotely played a role in the decision was Kennedy Coffee. Putting it mildly, Mrs. Murie is a fan. She's a big fan. Stretching back to our carpooling days, I can't think of a single event that makes Mrs. Murie happier than a trip to Kennedy Coffee. She rarely strays from an iced mocha, and I can't say that I blame her, as their version of the classic coffeehouse concoction is a perfect blend of espresso, chocolate milk, and whipped cream. So after a pretty swift distance run that ended with the Crystal Bridges hill -- a monstrous, nasty incline -- we found a table and talked details of the pending weekend. I loved that conversation, because it makes me so incredibly happy to talk running with her. Particularly marathons. With a nine hour car ride ahead of us, I know that the majority of our conversations on the way to Nashville will center around running. Some people talk red and blue, some people talk Jesus, some people talk about counting beans. Me? I prefer to talk about running. Please and thank you.
The weekend wasn't solely about distance running, however. There were other projects to tackle. Big projects. Important undertakings. An event so colassal and overreaching that it took literally all hours of sunlight for Mrs. Pugh and I to pull off -- we sponsored BHS Prom 2012. This year's theme: A Night To Remember, a classic yet understated prom theme, was strikingly similar to last year's equally epic BHS Prom theme: Remember The Night. Many a laugh we've had over the course of the school year thinking about all of the rediculously cheesy prom themes that come to mind: Midnight In Paris, Winter Wonderland, Some Enchanted Evening, Under The Stars, Arabian Nights, Destiny Awaits, From This Moment. The list goes on and on. We're already planning next year and need feedback, so please feel free to weigh in. If it were up to me, I'd say let's dump the whole thing and throw a 10K instead, but something tells me that won't go over so well with the administration.
Mrs. Pugh and I work really well together, and even though my slight propensity for annoying the hell out of her always shows up somewhere around 12 hours beforehand, we tend to get along just fine and throw an amazing event to send the students out with a bang. This year was no different, as we transformed the North Commons of the high school into a big dance party, complete with a raised dance floor, LED lights, two chocolate fountains, some swank club furniture, and a real live deejay. The highlight was, hands down, the confetti cannons. Booyah!
It's always fun to see my students outside of their element. I rarely run into them outside of BHS, and that's just fine with me, but there's something special about being a part of their developmental process. Seeing them go through a rite of passage -- their senior prom -- and knowing that a world of possibilities await them upon graduation is something that causes a very real emotion within me. For some of them, it will be the single most formal night of their lives, while for others prom serves as introduction to future events and successes based on determination and hard work. But for all of them, that night is theirs to have. They are like shiny new pennies, uncertain where they will go and what life will give them, but ready for anything and prepared to conquer the world. And I hope that's exactly what happens for each and every one of them.
The night went off without a hitch. After taking our obligatory picture for Mrs. Pugh's mom, who asks for one every year, we turned out the lights and locked the doors a few ticks after midnight. I drove home thinking about the students, hoping that they had a good time and were okay, and remembering my own prom years ago. That drive home would be the only time over the weekend that I wasn't thinking about the Nashville Marathon.
Our training plan calls for no running this week whatsoever -- only very easy crosstraining, like riding a stationary bike or swimming -- but I know that i'll have to get some miles in. The excitement will be too much to not lace up and run, even if it's only two or three miles. Running is what makes me feel like a shiny new penny, and that's a feeling everyone deserves. Even an old tarnished penny from 1973 like me.
This weekend i'm running my third marathon and I can't wait for it to begin. As always, it's going to be extremely tough, somewhat emotional, and definitely a lot of fun. There will be sweat, crowds, sore legs, adrenaline, and medals. Hopefully the finish line will only lead to more registrations and more starting corrals. And maybe there'll even be more time for a few more proms in between. I hope so.
Run 26.2.
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