Ok don’t make fun but I love Neil Diamond and from Neil, I especially love his album Hot August Night (really Neil just one hot night?) and from Night, I especially love Song Sung Blue. Why oh why are you so afflicted you may ask? Because when I was 13 I sailed around the Mediterranean with my grandparents, my aunt and two cousins. One longish stop was on the Greek island of Mykonos. In 1976, Mykonos was just another white washed, windmill bespectacled Greek island and not the trendy hot spot it is today.
In 1976, there were two maybe three late night bars/discos in Mykonos. And at that time no other island we had been to had a late night bar or even a disco or anything remotely exotic or fun to a country girl of 13, so this was pretty much the apex of the trip.
We returned night after night (and during the day as well) to the same bar which was run by one of the few English speaking Greeks on the island. Demetri loved Americans and had been to America only a few months before our visit to Mykonos. He returned with an armful of English words and tucked under his arm – “Hot August Night – Neil Diamond Live at the Greek Theater.”
The whole time we were in Mykonos, nothing else was allowed to be played in Demetri’s bar. Our visits there as I can best recall them were Demetri serving me endless free cokes so he could freely flirt with my 18 year old cousin L. or alternatively, my aunt buying me endless cokes so she could freely flirt with Demetri. And me, a shy 13 year old, sat in the corner and daydreamed of handsome Greek bartenders.
Demetri loved entertaining the women and tending bar, that was until Song Sung Blue would find its turn in the Hot August Night playlist. Everything in the bar came to a standstill while Demetri and Neil sang Song Sung Blue as if the very democratic independence of Greece (see the Junta Dictatorship of Greece 1968-1976) was dependent on it. And after our fourth or fifth visit we found ourselves belting “Song Sung Blue, weeping like a willow...” along with Dimitri.
So pardon me if I, in the privacy of my own home, am sometimes inclined to throw Neil on the CD player and dream of Hot Greek Nights in August. Did I mention Sweet Caroline….
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Sunday, December 03, 2006
December Running - better than November!
After some crazy weather and one of the rainiest Novembers on record for Portland – we had a beautiful day yesterday. What a difference December makes! (I never thought I would utter that sentence!) For the first time since September and our 21 miler – Janice and I ran Leif Erickson today. What a beautiful place and a great spot for running. Leif runs along the slopes of Forest Park and the West Hills of Portland. It’s a north south route with a gradual uphill as it runs along the eastern side of the hills. And the best part – no cars, no interruptions, just a long, long trail in the middle of this great park.
It’s a very popular place to run and bike and it’s wide enough to accommodate all without feeling crowded. On the run up to the Portland Marathon there were quite a few training groups getting their 18 and 20 milers in. It’s a perfect place for training since there are mile markers every ¼ mile. This is really nice until you are on the backside of a 20 miler and you start ticking off the ¼ miles….. 3 ½ miles to go…. 3 ¼ miles to go….and you are pretty sure you will not finish.
Last year when we started marathon training – our first run on Leif was one of the coldest days of the year. In the low 20’s when we started – every stream and waterfall was frozen over. What a sight - water suspended, frozen in time and space.
Throughout the year and in prep for the marathon we saw the seasons come and go. Winter, cold and leafless, Spring, with the fresh blooms and the varied bird calls, Summer – the shade a nice relief from the heat. But we had missed Fall. Today was our last shot and although there is just a trace of Fall left – it was really nice to be back there.
It did bring back some frightening memories of gutting out long runs. Today we just did 10 which was perfect. An Achilles tendon problem that had bothered me for a week or so was not so bad and the whole run felt good. Inspiring in fact after two weeks of struggling through runs. And after, we had a long talk with Mary about a Spring marathon. It’ll be nice to have something to shoot for again.
It’s a very popular place to run and bike and it’s wide enough to accommodate all without feeling crowded. On the run up to the Portland Marathon there were quite a few training groups getting their 18 and 20 milers in. It’s a perfect place for training since there are mile markers every ¼ mile. This is really nice until you are on the backside of a 20 miler and you start ticking off the ¼ miles….. 3 ½ miles to go…. 3 ¼ miles to go….and you are pretty sure you will not finish.
Last year when we started marathon training – our first run on Leif was one of the coldest days of the year. In the low 20’s when we started – every stream and waterfall was frozen over. What a sight - water suspended, frozen in time and space.
Throughout the year and in prep for the marathon we saw the seasons come and go. Winter, cold and leafless, Spring, with the fresh blooms and the varied bird calls, Summer – the shade a nice relief from the heat. But we had missed Fall. Today was our last shot and although there is just a trace of Fall left – it was really nice to be back there.
It did bring back some frightening memories of gutting out long runs. Today we just did 10 which was perfect. An Achilles tendon problem that had bothered me for a week or so was not so bad and the whole run felt good. Inspiring in fact after two weeks of struggling through runs. And after, we had a long talk with Mary about a Spring marathon. It’ll be nice to have something to shoot for again.
The Thing About a Marathon
There is a certain someone in our lives that I think has let the idea of a marathon slide from the “No way in H*$$ I’ll ever do that” to “I’m pretty darn sure I will never ever do that.” And let me just say – “Baby steps, my friend, baby steps.”
The thing about a marathon is that anyone can do one. No matter how many excuses you may have – and I am sure they are all good ones – the real truth of it is that anyone can do one. But once you commit, even ever so slightly, you do have to deal with the fact that you may not finish. And I suspect that is why so many people don’t even try. Fear of failure.
OK so I am not convincing anyone to run out and get started but here is the truth about things we think are too difficult:
“A League of Their Own”
Dottie Hinson: It just got too hard.
Jimmy Dugan: It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.
And that’s the thing about marathons – it may be the hardest thing you do and it could also be the greatest thing you do. You just have to take that chance.
In light of that little pep talk – I’m in the doldrums – yep no wind in my sails – I am stalled out in the middle of the ocean – no wind to move me forward, no wind to move me back. Just sitting here listening to the water lap against the side of the boat Even the seagulls mock me.
I’m chugging out my weekday runs but it’s not clicking. So it might seem odd to you that I’m thinking about doing another marathon. The thing is – I have the pictures and I vaguely remember the finish line but I am pretty sure that in fact I didn’t actually run 26.2 miles.
The thing about a marathon is that anyone can do one. No matter how many excuses you may have – and I am sure they are all good ones – the real truth of it is that anyone can do one. But once you commit, even ever so slightly, you do have to deal with the fact that you may not finish. And I suspect that is why so many people don’t even try. Fear of failure.
OK so I am not convincing anyone to run out and get started but here is the truth about things we think are too difficult:
“A League of Their Own”
Dottie Hinson: It just got too hard.
Jimmy Dugan: It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great.
And that’s the thing about marathons – it may be the hardest thing you do and it could also be the greatest thing you do. You just have to take that chance.
In light of that little pep talk – I’m in the doldrums – yep no wind in my sails – I am stalled out in the middle of the ocean – no wind to move me forward, no wind to move me back. Just sitting here listening to the water lap against the side of the boat Even the seagulls mock me.
I’m chugging out my weekday runs but it’s not clicking. So it might seem odd to you that I’m thinking about doing another marathon. The thing is – I have the pictures and I vaguely remember the finish line but I am pretty sure that in fact I didn’t actually run 26.2 miles.
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