It's been a week!

Life is moving really quickly, and it seemed that to move that quickly physically this weekend, I had to get up at 5:30a. I seem to have forgotten what a St. Louis summer morning felt like, but after my “sleep in until 9a” stint this morning, I had a brutally hot awakening. In saying that, I say that week one of training for the New York City Marathon is over! Hooray!

I was too busy to write every day, but the summary I’ll share includes a few pictures of the places I chose to spend my miles, and the faces of some of the important people I chose to spend some of my week with. It was a long week to say the least, but each time I opened my inbox and received donation notifications and really kind thoughts, I was touched. Thank you to all of those who donated this week. In just seven days, we raised $2,720 to find a cure for lung cancer. Many thanks to those who donated since I last wrote. You are acknowledged below.

Thursday: Sometimes the treadmill’s gotta do.

Today’s run made me realize that I miss my running partner. My running partner, Masharika Maddison, has just over a month left before she welcomes her son into the world, so we aren’t training together right now. We’re working together. We’re walking home together. We’re hanging out together. But we aren’t running together. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t offer running advice. (Thank goodness!) When I asked Coach Maddison if I abort the scheduled 800m speed repeats or go on a nice medium-distance run, she asked me what made me fast in Chicago. (It was the speed.) I’m convinced that pregnancy brain is now a myth.

And so, in an effort to stay speedy and take her advice, I hit the treadmill. Six-minute half-mile repeats x 5 weren’t as bad as I thought. My Pandora went out for one of them, and that was bad, but all in all, aside from the serious sweat and tempered appetite, I felt just as good as when I arrived.

Mash did lift my spirits by pretending she was running. We can’t wait for baby Maddison to arrive so he can join us in the super cool stroller his mom will certainly have.

Friday: Old friends are like fine wine.
Today was a rest day for running but definitely not a rest day for friends! I spent the morning and afternoon traveling to St. Louis to help out a colleague. The very added bonuses were friends and students. Friday marked the beginning of a really great weekend. When I landed in St. Louis, I was kindly greeted with none other than: DUNKIN DONUTS! I’m a complete and total sucker for their coconut coffee. Their medium is 24 oz., too, so whatever form of tired I was quickly went away.

I needed the energy. Heather Fitzsimmons, an awesome mom and incredible friend, scooped me up at the airport with her two little boys. I hadn’t met the youngest (Finnegan, 8 months) yet, but the oldest (Braeden, 3 years) was ready and waiting to tell me all about his latest like: trains and how much fun he’d been having with his favorite toys: the mixer and the excavator. He *thinks* he’s getting a real excavator when he turns four! Oh, the dreams we had when we were young.

Though I don’t think any of us articulates this, I often think that what I experienced over the course of Friday evening is a dream we all have: a group of friends who know you deeply, who you can have a darn good time with, and who – no matter how long it’s been – you can sit down with and it feels like it’s been just a day or so. Heather, her husband Patrick, Brandon Rowland, Dustin Odham, his fiancé, and I had that experience on Friday night. (Heath, Bran, Dustin and I all did Teach For America together in St. Louis back in ’04.) Brandon charmed us all by selecting the evening’s restaurant: Yemanja Brasil, located in a rather up and coming neighborhood called Benton Park.

It was warm enough to sit outside (so unlike San Francisco), and the atmosphere they set up – bright colors, lots of South American art, great music – seemed quite unlike the St. Louis I knew when I lived there. We had caiprihainas and a variety of dishes. From the “national dish” to curried vegetables to a few fish dishes, the smell of the spices permeated the air, adding to the depth of our conversation. We played the typical “catch up” game that you do with old friends, and all left with full bellies (especially because we went to Ted Drewes after) – and I’m sure, full hearts.

Dustin sent a “thank you” text message, and it made me remember what makes him so darn special: he does the “little” things. I, too, was thankful for the night and for the friends.

Saturday: Mesha Brown for Mayor!
Beep! BEEP! Beeeeeeeeeeeep! BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPPPPPPPPPPPPP! I so wanted to throw my Blackberry across the room when the alarm sounded at 3:15a. I’ll call it 3:15 because though I was in the central time zone physically, my head wasn’t there at all. It didn’t turn out too badly, though, because once I hit the streets and the park – see the shots of Forest Park – the cool morning air alleviated my fears of the summertime run in St. Louis.

It was nostalgia at it’s best. I remembered the hills and the fields and the bridges and the ponds. I knew where the water fountains were and when I should expect to see other runners. It was a wonderful welcome back, particularly because there were plenty of folks out that early. I used to run at 5a in my old neighborhood when I was teaching, and though it was “safe” and there were only two odd incidents, it was still a relatively scary experience. This morning, though, it was cool, it was safe, and gosh was it fun. My 6m pace was ahead of marathon pace!

That set the tone for the rest of the day.

By 8a, David Schapira, Arizona State Representative who is currently running for State Senate AND local school board, was in the car with fellow alumni affairs team member Elizabeth Zimmerman and I, and we were heading to the University of Missouri – St. Louis for a full, nine-hour day of campaign training. Though long, the day was well worth the trip. In addition to I think unleashing some of the thoughts going on in our St. Louis alums’ minds, LaMesha Brown, who is by far one of the most articulate and impressive nineteen year olds you’ll meet. Not only did she deliver a compelling stump speech sharing why you should vote for her for Mayor of St. Louis (in a few years), she realized that she could raise a load of money to run. We were chatting throughout the day, and she said that when she told her mom how she heard about the training, she said me. And when she said that her mom said “She doesn’t give up, does she?” I take my job as her (lifelong) teacher and mentor seriously.

It was so clear that she impressed the folks in the room. Just before Scott Baier, our fantastic ED in St. Louis, left, he reiterated that he wanted to get in touch with her. And you know what, he will…if she doesn’t beat him to it.

Sunday: Save the best for last.

It's a bad song by Vanessa Williams, but sometimes cheezy songs are spot on. As I write from the air on Sunday – catch up day! – I do so having spent much of my last day in St. Louis with the reason I keep coming back: my former students. After the brutal though beautiful run I mentioned at the start (see Botanical Garden), I trekked across Forest Park, and we headed to the Delmar Loop. As anticipated, I made them go around and say where they were going to college, what they were studying, and the one thing they were looking forward to next year.

I'm not at all surprised by the paths they want to take - nursing, teaching, politics - and am hopeful that in whatever small way, I contributed to the spirits of service they have.

With that, I'll end my post and my week. Good luck to all of the pre-K-college teachers AND students heading back to school in the next few weeks. May you all teach each other lessons you'll never forget.

BIG SHOUT OUTS TO :
Erin Morisey, Angel Gabler, Mary Vascellaro, Scott & Audrey McIntosh, Stephanie Padrez, Sally Jenkins-Stevens, Sara Pelosi, Lois Lang, Lorena Villa, Heather, Patrick, Braden & Finn Fitzsimmons, Jaisha Wray, Meghan Radkowski, Mari Becker, Amy Li, Lisa Barrett & Janine & John Grenham
for their contributions to close out the week. We’re $280 to goal!