Notes from Saturday-- by Joseph O'Brien

 Planned vibrations from my watch woke me at 6 am this Saturday morning. I stumbled into some very short shorts, aimlessly searched for a pair of breathable socks to wrap around my feet, and snatched a shirt from a neatly folded pile in my closet. Without delay, I walked downstairs only to be surprised by the appearance of my mother in the hallway. It is my prediction that she was restless at this early hour, and required activity to spend her energy.

"Are you going to Rockefeller?" asked my Mother.
"Yes, I'm going there right now to meet some teammates for an early morning workout, we planned to beat the deadening heat that is forecasted for today." I replied.
"Would you mind dropping me off early so I can walk home?" asked my Mom.
"Of course! I will leave in 20 minutes." I answered.

After a small bowl of oats covered with milk, raisins, and almonds, we snuck out the door, as we did not hope to wake the rest of my sleeping family. 

As I spun the dial of my radio to NPR, my mom hopped into the passenger seat and we rode off. The news of the day was an inside story on the abuse of Priests in the catholic church. It had turned out moods sour, and I thought it might be a better idea to turn to 107.1 The Peak, where some smooth morning acoustics accompanied some scattered conversations on some recent podcasts I've listened to, and some recommendations of some for her walk home.

After I dropped her off, I made my way through Pleasantville to Rockefeller State Park, where the majority of my cross country training is done. The soft-hilly trails allow for strenuous runs but also less pain on the joints. The prescribed workout for today was a four-mile fartlek, which is some European language for "speed play". After a mile and a half warm-up, four teammates and I started the run which was set on a 1-mile hill loop. We were to run three and a half minutes hard up the dirt hill. Then we would have a recovery jog back to the starting point, where we would do it again until we did four repetitions

The workout went well, especially in the heat and humidity. I improved my fitness a lot, and I'm excited for this next week of training.

After a cool down jog, we got back into our cars. After some considerable deliberation upon what joint we should visit for our post-workout refueling, we settled upon the Pleasantville Diner as our destination.

I ordered an English Muffin, a small cup of coffee with cream, a Grecian Wrap with tomatoes, eggs,  spinach, and feta, and finally, some home fries accompanied with a slightly sweet Ketchup.

But better than the meal, was the delightful conversation enjoyed by all parties, and the bonds created over a workout and breakfast. It was a lovely morning with lovely people.

Best,
Joe O'Brien

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