so, apparently my high school reunion is this weekend. So glad I got advance notice of that. Maybe that's what all those Classmates spam emails were a few months ago. Whatever. What is hee-lar-ee-yus is seeing the photo album of the mixer this summer (yah, didn't get the evite for that soiree, either.... hmmm) and seeing how the mighty have fallen. There are a couple of the cheerleading queens that still look pretty much the same, if not a little pinched and tight. Like they have to work really hard to maintain themselves. A few of the others are significantly overweight, and some have so drastically aged that I didn't recognize them. And the folks posting the captions were so not helpful, giving the pictures amazingly intuitive captions like "Homecoming Mixer004" and "HHS Picnic 042" Um, help a gal out - and at least give me an idea of who these people are.
What's interesting is that there are only a few people that I have kept in touch with since high school. I had a very close-knit group of friends from 10th grade through senior year -- we were the speech & drama geeks, who spent all our weekends at forensics competitions or one-act play performances. Some of us were in band too (not I, said the cat) and I spent a lot of time with the yearbook and newspaper crowd, but the core of us were pretty close until about our second year of college. Then things changed as we started to find ourselves and grow into the people we ultimately became. I hear about their whereabouts from my parents on occasion, but for the most part, I've lost touch. My friends now are my college buddies, and more recently, my work buddies (hi! Diane! howdy Marissa!!) Or, just those folks that come into your life that you seem to click with and that share your lifestyle, your aspirations and your interests (hi! Denise!!). And, of course, all those folks that I've never met and wouldn't know from Adam if I crossed them on the street, but whose blogging names and mastheads I know by heart.
I don't know what those folks from my high school would say about me if they were to see my race photos now, or if they tried to identify me from a party pic (which likely wouldn't happen --unless it's a 7-year-old's birthday party at the zoo). Would they recognize me? I'm heavier now than I was at 17, but I wasn't athletic at all then like I am now. I have some gray hair now, but it doesn't jump out at you. I guess I have a few lines and wrinkles, but I don't compensate for them by wearing too much makeup -- in fact, I hardly wear any makeup at all. Folks I work with now are usually surprised by two things when they get to know me: first, that I have run 5 marathons and second, that I am closer to 40 than 35. So I guess I've aged fairly well. If it counts for anything, I certainly feel like I'm finally figuring some stuff out.
So, I won't be making it to my 20th high school reunion this weekend. Instead, I'll be hitting the gym for another session with my trainer, watching my husband play hockey with his pals, spending as much time as I can with my two boys, then capping it off with a nice 14-miler Sunday morning. I think I prefer my plans instead anyway.
ORN -- 5 miles -- 3.7 from my apartment to Times Square and back, then 1.3 miles on the TM. I thought I had to be back by 8:00 to watch House, but then realized that it doesn't start until 9:00 here. I had time to finish laundry, eat dinner and blog. Love it.
Sunday ORN -- 13.5 miles in 2:31. I took walk breaks every mile, but didn't do the intervals on the Garmin. Instead, I used the lap timer and checked it to make sure I only walked for a minute each time. So my average lap time of 11:15 included the walking portions. It was slower than I'd prefer, but I'm not going for any speed records this year; I just want to finish strong and not hit that damn wall by mile 19.
2 comments:
You look mahvellous! I never went to my reunions, I hated the whole high school thing, so had no desire to go back for any reason.
However, Facebook has allowed me to see how some people have aged these past 20+ years. And for some, it ain't pretty. Then again, it isn't for me either!
Great job on the run! You inspire!
Its funny how your life direction changes because of maybe one thing, and in your case it was probably a few things: your family, your work, and your running/triathloning. I'm sure that has opened doors you never thought you would be going through. Good job on the running. And hopefully we will meet up one of these days! I know how hard it is to link up in a place as big as New York.
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