Prayers for Becky

Becky Fortune, mother of my good friend, Beth Fortune, remains unconscious at VUMC after suffering a stroke earlier this week. Her vital signs are stable, but the doctors believe a blood clot formed in her brain. The Fortunes have had a long road with Becky battling a brain tumor since last year. Please say extra prayers for Becky and her family. Beth, who is very eloquent, is keeping folks posted at their CaringBridge site.

Dori spent her morning searching for beach homes in Edisto Island, SC, a place we visited two years ago, while I went on my last long run before the Tom King Half Marathon. Re-reading that sentence is gratifying on about 10 levels. Our family had a special vacation in Edisto - swimming, fishing and eating great food, but most of all, being with each other. We took Otis, my black lab who we later put to sleep in August 2006. Otis was the most incredible dog. I will never forget taking the old boy in the sound for a swim, just holding him in the warm water.

This morning's run went well. I did a Park to Park Run - from Radnor to Percy Warner and back. I actually ran along Radnor Lake for a mile, back to the West Lot and then to PWP. The first five miles went fine at an easy pace. I started seeing many runners on Robert E. Lee Drive and more on Tyne. When I reached Belle Meade Blvd., runners were everywhere.

At about five miles, I went from feeling OK to very good. From mile five to nine, I found a rhythm and my pace quickened, probably to a 9:00 per mile. I passed a tall, fit woman about my age at the seven-mile mark. She decided she was going to keep pace, which was good - that keeps me moving faster. She never caught up, and I dropped her at 9.5 miles.

I passed quite a few folks today, but I did get smoked by some 30-something who looks like he's never seen a pizza. He was flying at better than a 6:00 per mile pace. You feel like you're walking when that happens, but you're not. Final distance, time and pace: 11.2 miles, 1:47:23, 9:35 per mile. Total mileage for the week, including a four miler on Thursday: 21.0.

The kids and I joined 125 other brave fans to watch Vanderbilt beat Kansas in baseball last night. I resisted the heckle, "All you are is 'Dust in the Wind,' Jayhawks!" VU won 7-1, looking impressive even without their star third baseman, Pedro Alvarez, who has a broken hand. Best part - Both Kathryn and Will got themselves an SEC/NCAA logo'd baseball. Will now has five of these in his room.