This week was a bit surreal. I was back at the corporate big top in Sydney from Monday through Thursday. The TRR coaches gave us the week off to recover from the Ross Half. I was a bit at a loss but honestly I needed the rest this week. Work was pretty full on and I put in some long hours. I’d get to the office before 8AM most days and left pretty late most nights and continued to work from my hotel. Not really loving the corporate life at the moment, but things will settle down as they always do.
I did a couple of runs this week. I won’t go into my usual breakdown but I will tell you that I had a beautiful run across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Wednesday morning. It was lovely outside and the sun was shining. It was one of those stunning mornings where you breathe in the fresh air and you are grateful to be alive to experience it. Watching the sunrise over the Sydney Opera House was magical and I thought about how privileged I am to be able to see it. I’m glad I made the effort to get up early and do it. While it was only 5km, it set me up for the day and proved to me I could still run!
That evening I caught up for drinks after work with some workmates and my colleague who had recently left. Again it was one of those great nights where you just relax, chat, laugh, drink and enjoy the moment. Then at around 8:40PM I get a text message from my cousin Mike who lives in the US. “Angelica” it read – I wrote back straight away with “Hey Mike” and they he writes back “Call me please. It happened.” My heart sank because I knew exactly what had happened. My Uncle Richie passed away.
Vale Uncle Richie
I excused myself and headed outside the pub and made the call. Mike filled me in and I tried to give my condolences. I always find myself so awkward in these moments. I can never find the words. I am always overcome by emotion. I can’t even imagine how Mike is feeling. The loss of a parent is one of the hardest things anyone would have to deal with. I told Mike I would tell my mum, so as soon as I got off the phone with him I called my mum. She knew as soon as I rang. She cried, we cried and that was the toughest call I’ve ever had to make.
I walked back into the pub in a haze. I knew this day was coming for a long time but I was in denial. You see my Uncle had been suffering from cancer. It started out as prostate cancer but metastasized to the point where his poor body was riddled with it. I sat down and wanted a shot but I never quite got around to it because I spent some time telling my friends about my amazing uncle. I will share one of the stories with you that is related to running.
My Uncle Richie was generous to a fault. He was happiest when he was of service to others. He had a love of technology, especially flashlights or as we call them here in ‘straya “torches”. The last time I saw him which was back in 2009 he gave me this awesome Dorcy torch. It was around the time when LEDs really started to hit the market. It was a small torch which was very solidly constructed. I have to admit that I didn’t use it much the first few years I had it but it was never far away.
When I started taking my running seriously I began to run before work which means I ran in the dark. I remembered the torch my uncle had given me and it was my faithful companion on every run. I thought of him as the torch lit my way and it felt like he was there protecting me. I did mention before that the torch was solid – it could double as a weapon. If I couldn’t outrun a wouldbe assailant I could most definitely do some damage by clocking them on the head!
In my youth, my Uncle, Aunt and cousin lived a few blocks away from our house in the South Side of Chicago. We would always go around to their place. He’d always be brewing up some strange soup and between him and my Aunt Sandy we never left hungry. Their house was always a safe haven where I felt protected and loved. I can’t imagine how it is going to feel when I visit there next year before the Chicago Marathon.
I’m glad I was with friends when I got the news and I’m glad I was able to share a bit of my Uncle’s legacy with them. Exhausted, I walked to my hotel and planned on running the bridge again in the morning. I couldn’t sleep. My heart and mind were in Chicago. I drifted in and out of fitful sleep and it took every ounce of energy to get myself out of bed. I stumbled into work at 9 feeling like a zombie.
Thursday and Friday passed by in an exhausted blur. Saturday was spent with my mum remembering happy times with Uncle Richie. I also spend a fair part of the late afternoon in bed because I was totally and utterly exhausted.
Sunday Runday
Today I got the itch to run. I was still tired but after so much sleep I must have been well rested. I thought about Uncle Richie and I know for a fact that he would not want me wasting my precious time on this earth lying around in bed. He was always active. Always tinkering and learning.
John, my husband, was going for a training walk to Mt Nelson Lookout with a mate so I thought I’d take the opportunity of a bright and sunshiney day to run there. It has been a while since I did that run and to be honest it was a bit ambitious for my lethargy. I took it easy and walked the infamous stairs. I got into my stride around the 4km mark and had a break at 5km to admire the view from the lookout. It was the perfect spring day for a run. I’m glad I got out there and did it. It wasn’t my fastest run but I ran 10km but I smiled and thought to myself how lucky I am to have my health, my life and my memories of my beautiful uncle.
Rest in Peace Uncle Richie x
