a story of the first visit i've made to church in a very long time

i ran 16 miles this morning after taking two days off on account of my bum leg. the run was amazing despite a pretty healthy headwind for the last 7 miles. i was worried at the beginning of the run when stabbing pains shot into my knee every time my foot hit the ground, but that went away in the first mile.

we stopped at the cooper y for some water and a bathroom. i was sitting in the stall zoning out as i tend to do after running for an hour and then suddenly ceasing all movement. at that moment loud, obnoxious children came into the bathroom and, seriously, five kids piled into the stall next to me and started taking turns peeking underneath the divider to smile at me while i sat there helpless and naked from the waist down. grr. the girls were giggling and asking the boys - yes, two of them were boys and one of them was way too old (in my estimation) to be in the girls restroom - if they wanted to kiss the girl in the stall next to them. grr. so, coveted zone out moment in the bathroom being over, i left the stall to find mom primping in the mirror and totally neglecting to discipline her kids. she smiled sheepishly at me and offered up her halfhearted apology that went something like - well, kids will be kids. grr. i just glared.

normally we go to bread and cup for granola after our long runs, but since they're not open on sunday we went to the green gateau instead. yuch. i had whole grain pancakes. one of them was totally burnt and hidden underneath the other one (nice try kitchen guys - i worked in restaurants way too long to fall for that) so i asked the waiter for another and he tried telling me they were supposed to look like that because of the whole grains! ha. anyway, i got another, but they were really not very good. i've only eaten there twice and i thought the food sucked both times. so no more green gateau for me. an unexpected bonus at the end of the meal - both cara and i got a free dessert to take home with us, i guess because the manager walked by and happened to see the burnt pancake. i chose the napoleon torte from the lithuanian bakery in omaha. this has always been one of my favorite desserts. when i graduated from high school, i requested one for my cake instead of the traditional frosted 'congrats grad' cake. i can't wait to eat my slice later today.

in the end, a great run on a sunny morning despite the neglectful mother who ruined my moment of silence in the bathroom at the ymca and the less than satisfactory meal at the gateau.

oh, just remembered the best part about today's run. we were heading through the near south neighborhood and both suddenly got very, very thirsty (a word of advice: don't drink beer the night before a long run). the sunken gardens were luckily (we thought) very close by. but the water fountain wasn't turned on yet for the season, and as soon as i hit the button and no water came out, i became desperate for water. there's a church across the street from the gardens. we thought we could sneak into the foyer and get a quick drink from their fountain. but as soon as we opened the front door, people poured out of the sanctuary and looked a bit appalled at the two sweaty spandex clad girls standing in the doorway. cara, looking distressed, explained that we had a water emergency and asked if we could use their fountain. the woman closest to us, also looking distressed, took a moment and then explained that we simply had to cross the sanctuary (not so simple) and would find the fountain in the hallway at the other side. i could almost see her thought process as she struggled internally with 'who do these girls think they are, showing up and interrupting our service like this' and 'but a church is supposed to offer aid to the needy'. so we waited until the church half emptied before we got an opportunity to simply cross the sanctuary. by this time, i was very uncomfortable, mostly because everyone stared openly as they filed past. i felt like i was in the receiving line at a wedding but not dressed for the occasion. we made it to the fountain and drank lustily, then bolted for the door. on the way out, i noticed an old man still seated in one of the back pews, grinning widely at me. he was obviously getting a huge kick out of it. i smiled back and we were on our way.