Running on Empty

So they cancelled the marathon. All these people are so delighted because they didn't want anyone doing anything remotely happy - except, oh watching that basketball or football game (but people, those are what our society considers to be essentials). I understand a lot of the arguments, but a lot of what makes me angry is that people were circulating lies - like the cops were being taken off storm duty to do the marathon (not so - they're on overtime) or that the private generators were taken from people in Staten Island or that we were running through the worst neighborhoods (not so - if I'm correct, none of the neighborhoods that we are running through lost power or experienced extreme damage - not that other parts of the city didn't experience horrific damage). My own mother told me she wouldn't come and that kind of shut me off. I knew I wasn't an asshole for wanting to run - I did feel conflicted - but then there were the crazy parents in Park Slope demanding their children trick or trick b/c keeping them locked indoors for three days (OMG) was cruel & unusual punishment - and let's go protest the marathoners for running. WHAT? People are clearly insane.

One-third of the runners come from outside the United States...and they cancelled the marathon on Friday evening. My friend's mom came from London to watch her run (and now they are likely stranded in Greenpoint) and my friend's friend flew in from London to run. But no one is, because of bad feelings.

Don't get me wrong - I was VERY conflicted about running. But the cancelling of it - why and how it happened - and the blaming and the media circus - were wrong. It is not NYRR's fault that FEMA didn't get their act together to give out water.

My running club is planning on running to a volunteering point in Red Hook and helping out. I'll be there but I must admit, it's with a heavy heart. I had planned on PRing, running a fast marathon. I think if I had flown in from another country, I'd be like, "Screw volunteering." I'd be pissed at the city of NY. I'd be angry with the people, with how transit is messed up. And yeah, I'd be angry at my mom too.

But it's a bunch of things, it's controversial and all I know is, I'm drinking more champagne to forget at this wedding we are already late for. Four-hour lines for gas are not fun, but they are in Brooklyn.

"The Perfect Storm"

I was annoyed at the usage of "The Perfect Storm." That made it sound like a good thing. But really, for a lot of people in my neighborhood, it seemed that.

We didn't  lose power, internet, water. Nothing of my boyfriend and mine was damaged - we were so lucky. Everyone had a few free days off of work - in fact, if you head out, you'll notice all the bars are packed mid-day.

My job was in full effect - we were working the entire time. Normally we can work at home, and once the electricity went down in our building downtown (thus, killing our servers), we switched to using gmail and skype to communicate and worked offline. It kind of worked, a lot better than most would think. It was incredibly difficult to concentrate - esp as the wind was whipping around outside, as we listened to NPR and heard the horrifying stories of what had happened. I could barely concentrate.

My aunt and uncle lost their beautiful house, right on the water. They figured water would come in, so they stacked stuff up on high - not realizing the power of the water that nothing was safe, even things up high. The water came in, flooding, knocking down walls, taking away the floor boards, windows. My aunt lost irreplaceable things, jewelry, so much. It was so sad. Their house is destroyed and will probably be condemned.

Lower Manhattan still doesn't have power. The Queens Midtown Tunnel and the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel are both still closed, with water inside. Many of the subway lines aren't open. Cell phones are bad for everyone. Some people can't drink their water. It is horrible.

And it gets worse, trees fell on people, killing them. 100 houses in Breezy Point, burnt to the ground. So much devastation...

An acquaintance posted on Facebook that Hurricane Sandy was "boring." They didn't lose power or internet or get flooded. What, you think devastation is exciting? Obnoxious.

The NYC Marathon is still happening this weekend. To be honest, I feel conflicted. I am excited to run - but there is so much devastation and sadness, it's hard to send your mind there and be as excited about it - esp when my aunt and uncle lost their home. They came and watched me run the marathon a few years ago, and Aunt Patti is definitely my favourite aunt (and always has been).

What can you do? What can you say to someone who just lost almost everything physically they have? She barely got out - waded in out in waist-high water. I'm so glad she has her life...but in a way, it seems weird to think, "Yay, I'm running a marathon."

So I'll celebrate. I'll think of her while I run and dedicate my run to her. I've dedicated runs to people in physical pain before (my grandfather, my grandmother) but this time, I'll dedicate what I do for her.

I better run a 3:14 now, ha!

The Calm Before the Storm

An easy run with friends, coffee, errands, Halloween costume prep, cooking, chilling, a couple of Halloween parties. Slept intertwined into each others' arms, woke up late, ran 5 miles around 7 minute pace, bought groceries, breakfast, froze water bottles, bought beer and mixers, straightened up, filled bottles of water and stowed bags of ice in the freezer. And cuddled on the couch w the cat.

Mary came over in the midst of sweeping, and we headed out to see what things were like. I had been telling Wayne since Friday that you could tell something was going to happen - the sky has been this constant cloudy grey without rain - strange for us. And there is this ominous feeling. During the race, as I pushed my pace, I could feel it. And now, wandering around with Mary, heading to parks that had signs up saying that the NYC Parks were closed and how to report fallen trees. We walked out on the closed ferry pier. We passed people struggling with full bags of water and ice and beer and vodka and oh yeah, some non-perishables. I live in "Zone B" which means we're second to be evacuated. Zone A peeps were supposed to be leaving but those we talked to said they weren't leaving. "Yeah, our basement got flooded during Irene." Well, this is supposed to be worse.

We stared out at the waves. We talked about things that bothered us. We wished we had battery-operated radios and hoped we wouldn't lose our electricity. We wondered how dangerous it would be - and how bad it would be for running.