Sunday, July 01, 2007

In which I run up a mountain and think mushy thoughts.

So last Thursday last me and herself the Pirate, went with members of the Albuquerque roadrunners for a run up the side of a mountain.
Oh, and her beloved took a picture of us to prove that she is real. That's herself, on the left.

Here's the Garmin readout (below) of my run, which began at 8500 feet. Click on it to see the elevations.

I made and broke lots of deals with myself on this run.

Hmmm. Looks steep. I'll just jog it. Umm, okay, I'll jog the flats. Um, okay, I'll hike it. Energetically.

Eventually it just became a hike up, jogging down.
I was out of breath, sweaty, tired, slightly dizzy from the altitude, and loving every moment of it. I gotta do this more often! The views were spactacular.

the Pirate was of course far ahead of me, as was the rest of the pack. Alone, I started thinking, for some reason, about how much my life has changed.

Ten years ago, I was in an unhappy relationship that was about to end abuptly, after which and I would spend a year wallowing in self pity and wine while seeing a counselor.

Ten years ago I had not even met Sweet Baboo. He was a teaching assistant at my college. I'd just started grad school, and would soon begin a graduate assistantship in the faculty development center. I settled comfortably into my nickname, working on computers, writing interactive tutorials, authoring web pages, and teaching technology classes. In a little over a year this psychology graduate assistant, flipping his too-long hair out of his eyes, would be very friendly while I, the angry divorcee, would ignore him.

On the trail, I crossed ski slopes where the wind rushed at me. It was 90 degrees below, but in the sixties on the mountain. Time to go back down now.

A decade ago, if you'd have told me I'd be running 1000 feet up the side of a mountain, I'd have laughed my ass off. Then I'd have taken a puff off my cigarette, and offered to share my "trash nachos" with you, a charming concoction involving as much cheese as it possible over cheap greasy chips and whatever embellishments are availble...Surimi, leftover pork loin, whatever.

Because, in my view at the time, sitting on the couch, smoking cigarettes, and eating junk was much safer than running up the side of a mountain.

I hit the switchback flats and jogged them, and the hit a steeper downhill, stepping gently to avoid turning my ankle on the loose rocks. Hummingbirds shot by me.

Ten years ago when I attended weddings I was admonished to behave. It was well-known some that I was just a bit bitter, and thought marriage was a crock, having had more than one of them fail. This would present as my signature sardonic wit, given enough alcohol and a very solemn occasion. Moreover, I thought most men were perfectly delightful until one married them, and then, poof! Overnight they turned into (ugh) HUSBANDS.

(Even more frightening,
I worried some flaw of mine made them turn bad.)


But then almost nine years ago, I met Sweet Baboo, and all that changed.


Here's a photo of us when we were dating.


Our first few months would be a muddled long-distance relationship and trying to figure out how to get a handle on a "normal" relationship which a "normal" person.




After nearly two years of dating, we merged: the nervous psychologist and the anxious divorcee and the three young kids.

That was July 1, 2000. Seven years ago.

I was terrified that day. What would happen? Would I work my voodoo magic and turn another perfectly normal man into a jerk?

So far, Sweet Baboo has not turned into a toad. He's still my hero, the terrific man I married. He makes me feel safe and loved and appreciated. It never ends.

The only time I've been scared since that day was right before my first open water swim.

Here's a wedding photo.

Proving that anything's possible.

I can run up a mountain.

And live happily ever after.

Happiness is in all our grasps. All we have to do is close our eyes, take a deep breath, and jump in the water.

Or run up the trail.

Or whatever.

Happy anniversary, Sweet baboo.

XOXOXOX

Love, your GeekGirl.



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20 comments:

  1. *wipes tears from eyes*
    I'm so glad you found each other

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  2. Lovely post! Did you run the Luz trail? It looks like you're at the tram on Sandia!

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  3. What a great post about how far you've come and the fabulous guy who's accompanied you on your journey. :-)

    Nothing like a long, hard run to make ya think, eh?

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  4. It is pretty sweet when you realize you found the right person. Marraige is HARD and both people have to want it to work or it won't. J-Wim and I will celebrate our 18th this year.My grandparents are somewhere in the 50's for number of years they have been married. And you are right. You can do anything you put your mind to. Happy Anniversary and you guys look great. I laughed when I read the part about you having some spell or something that makes guys turn into jerks. Some guys are just jerks and it takes time to figure that out. Some of us guys are not.

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  5. What a beautiful post!

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  6. Aww, so sweet!

    I love the pictures of you two together. Y'all are cute together!

    Happy Anniversary - and many happy more!

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  7. Awwwwwwww!! Fabulous pics, thanks for sharing those! and

    HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!!

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  8. What fantastic story....and it's just begun!
    Yea for you for jumping into life with both feet!
    (Aint' a good marriage GRAND?) :-)
    Happy 7th anniversary! And many more!

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  9. Now thay is Flippen awsome!You guys are a great couple. I have always admired both of you, I believe you two are really made for eachother. Happy anniversary guys!

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  10. what a nice post. Third time's the charm i guess! ;-)
    Seriously, you are a very lucky gal and have obviously found happiness together.
    Happy anniversary - Here's to many many many more!

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  11. I was just wondering the other day how you guys met! Great story and pictures-happy annivesary. You are both so lucky. I have one of those marriages too-pinch me..

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  12. Great story!! you both rock.. and hey thats some serious elevation.. thats going to make IMCdA look easy!

    rockon`

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  13. Great post! You guys are so cool and nice, I can hardly wait to meet up with you again! Happy Anniversary!

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  14. AWwwwwww. So sweet. Great story!! Thanks for sharing GG.

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  15. Wonderful story, great pics! Nothing like a quick little run/jog/walk/gasp up the ski valley to make the day just that much better, no? Is La Luz perhaps calling your name?

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  16. In this day it is nice to find people who truly appreciate each other. With the exception of parenting, I have never done anything harder than being married. Just like triathlon, I have had to work at it everyday.

    Hope you enjoyed your day.

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  17. Thanks for sharing that story - it's beautiful and inspiring!

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  18. Whoa- when I first started reading this post I was going to comment about what an inspiration that Pirate can be. I ran a race with her and she just trotted up ahead and burned it to the finish.

    But then I got to the retrospective and the anniversary part. Congratulations on finding your prince. There is always another mountain to climb but finding a guy you can live with is a rare event. For some of us it is a non-event. Anyhow - congrats - nice post!

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  19. Beautiful post GG. Sometimes you have to kiss a few toads before you find the prince. :)
    I hope you both had a really nice Anniversary.

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  20. Thank you for the reassuring post as I just ended a 6 plus year relationship that hasn't the healthiest for me. Thankfully I didn't get married though started to plan one several times. I believe triathlon training has made me the strong enough person to get out. (He's not a bad guy, we're just not good for each other)

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 I'm no longer involved in multisport or endurance sports. I've started my own business, a psychotherapist specializing in anxiety d...