Thursday, August 6, 2009

hills and prayers

Harlem Hill is much longer than I thought.

We began Tuesday night's practice at our meeting spot at 86th street in the bridle path on the east side. I thought this was an interesting meeting spot, considering we were running harlem hill repeats, which doesn't even start until 107th st (approximately). We had a 1.5 mile warm-up and then we were supposed to push all the way to the top of harlem hill and recover down. Seems simple enough. Unfortunately, I underestimated the length of the hill. My 1st repeat I took out confidently, and quickly. I thought the hill would never end. Towards the top my breathing became heavy and labored, even though I wasn't moving quickly at all (it's all about effort; not speed...). ANYWAY, since my recoveries down the hill were SO slow (I could have been walking), I only ended up getting 5 repeats in. Most people got 6. Hmph. I was happy enough to finish that last hill and run back to stretch though! My legs DID NOT want to move after all those hills. As one of my teammates stated on our cooldown to the stretching area, "Why does this feel like mile 23?"

The point of the workout was to get the lactic acid to build up and teach the body to recycle it quickly. That must have been why my legs were so sluggish at the end. All in all, a hard workout, and a GOOD night's sleep!

On a sadder note...

On Tuesday night, Pat McCormick (Kate's dad) lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. He was recently taken off chemo and has been spending time at home for the past week. He is finally whole and well again, and in no more pain. He was one of the best men I knew, and has raised a wonderful, beautiful family. He will be greatly missed and I hope anyone reading this will extend their prayers to him and his family.

Here is his obituary:

PATRICK DEAN MCCORMICK

Patrick Dean McCormick, 52, Henderson, Kentucky, died of pancreatic/liver cancer at 10:25 p.m. Tuesday, August 4, 2009, at his home.
He was a piano tuner and technician, wonderful jazz pianist, but more importantly, the nicest man you could ever hope to meet. He was a member of First United Methodist Church in Henderson, where he was organist until March of this year. Pat loved to play the piano, and his music was enjoyed by many throughout the tri-state area.
He was preceded in death by his father, Carlos Archie McCormick, and his father-in-law, Charles William “Bill” McClure.
Survivors include his wife of 30 years, Heather McCormick; one son, Seth Patrick McCormick of Henderson; one daughter, Meredith Kate McCormick of Henderson; his mother, Juanita McCormick of Harrisburg, Illinois; one brother, Steve McCormick and his wife, Janice, of Harrisburg; nephew, Brad McCormick and his wife, Sherie, and their four children of Harrisburg; nephew, Mike McCormick and his wife, Penny, and their three children of Harrisburg; niece, Sheena Lowrey and her husband, Talon, of Harrisburg; mother-in-law, Mary Ann Blackwell and her husband, Chap, of Columbus, Indiana; brother-in-law, Brett McClure and his wife, Kim, and their sons, Alex and Drew, all of Anchorage, Kentucky.
Services will be at noon Saturday at First United Methodist Church. The Reverend Gary Chapman and the Reverend Willard Knipp will officiate. Private family burial will be in Fernwood Cemetery.
Friends may call from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. Saturday at Rudy-Rowland Funeral Home.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to American Cancer Society, First United Methodist Church Music Ministry, or St. Anthony’s Hospice.
Honorary pallbearers will be members of the choirs and praise teams at First United Methodist Church and Chapel Hill United Methodist Church and the musicians with whom Pat has enjoyed playing throughout his musical career.

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