Shocking. Scandalous. Insane. Disgraceful. Unconscionable. I just watched 83 hours of soft core porn on television. Well ok...not all in one sitting. But for the last three months, every single time I've hopped on the dreadmill, I've watched one (and only one) show...Queer as Folk. I know I'm a little behind the times. QAF ended in 2005, but I didn't get around to watching it until the fall of 2007. Hey...you try to watch 83 seconds of tv, much less 83 episodes, with two kids under five running around the house. It's nearly impossible. But, when I take my daily hour to run, that's MY time. Teletubbies, Scooby Doo, and Bob the Builder (even with the incredible romantic tension between Bob and Wendy) just don't do it for me. But, during MY time I get to choose what's on tv, and since August it's been Queer as Folk.

Last year I published a list of the top ten shows to watch while treadmill running. I would now like to add QAF to that list. Who wouldn't want to watch hours of hot beefy cut bodies dance to the "thumpa thumpa" of the best club beats of 2004? Ok...a lot of people. But for me it was just distracting enough to dull the pain of an entire fall's worth of training runs. Would Brian and Justin ever develop a real relationship? Could Ted find the man of his dreams? What would Emmett wear next? Could Hal Sparks (aka Michael) ever learn to act? Over 83 episodes I learned the answers to all of these questions (sorry Hal), and I have to admit, I'm a little sad it's over.

Maybe I have Queer as Folk to thank for my fall running season. On September 15th I ran the Bergen Peak Trail race for the first time. I trained all summer long. Imagine an 11.5 mile race with a six mile climb straight up at an elevation of nearly eight thousand feet. And that was the easy part. Did I mention I had to run back down the hill after I got to the top? Here's a quick recap. I start the race just hoping to finish in the top three in my age group. About two miles in, I realize I'm one of the only women near the front. I try to maintain my composure as I pass a woman with a much better body than I could ever dream of having (#$%!@). I start the uphill climb. As the temperature rises into the upper 70s, I lose stamina. My uphill run becomes so slow, that the woman ahead of me begins to walk and I still can't manage to catch her. I reach the peak in second place. I figure that all I need to do to ensure a second place finish is motor down the hill at literal breakneck speed. I fly. I hear someone come up from behind. It's a girl! NO WAY! I get nervous. I take a turn too quickly and BAM, in an instant I'm on the ground. My knee hurts, I'm bleeding, my shoulder aches. I get back up. The girl behind me breezes by. Maybe I can still get third. I try to run faster, even though I'm really scared of falling again. At this point I'm determined to place, or die trying (which is starting to seem likely). I finish the final mile in 7:19 and cross the finish line. I'm handed a second place ribbon. What? Second place. I soon find out that the girl in first ran off the trail for a pit stop. Should my second place really count? Should I forfeit it to the girl with a weak bladder? Heck no! If she's not woman enough to wet her pants for a giant horse ribbon, she doesn't deserve to win. The girl who won the race has 10-month-old twins waiting for her at the finish line. I have to admit...I no longer feel like such a studette. I remember how tired I was when Mac was 10-months-old, and there was only one of him. Think how fast this woman would have been on a full night's sleep! Oh well...I'll take the second place. I have never placed overall in a race in my entire life. Is this the part where I'm required to mention that less than 50 people actually did the race? I don't care...it was still BRUTAL.

One month later I completed the Denver 1/2 Marathon. When my husband and I showed up on race morning in pouring rain and temperatures in the low 30s, we were both wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. I wore a coat, a hat, gloves, and a long black plastic garbage bag. I knew this was going to be bad. There was no way I could look cute in my race photo in that outfit! I found the 7:30 pace group at the starting line, tore off my garbage bag, and was off. I somehow missed the first and second mile markers, but I could still see the balloon toting 7:30 pacer just a few steps ahead, so I figured I was still on target. I hit the third mile marker right on pace. I tucked in behind a couple of women in their 40s who were chatting the entire way. I kept wanted to join their conversation, but I was too out of breath to speak. I soon learned that they were running the full marathon. What? They could chat effortlessly for 26.2 miles at the same pace I was barely managing for 13.1. I will NEVER stop being amazed by the number of sickingly fit people in Colorado. Maybe I should move to the mid-west? By mile five my shoes were so soaked and heavy I could barely lift my feet. But, I managed to hold pace, and finished in 1:40:30, a PR by seven minutes.
Could Queer as Folk really have led me to two breakthrough performances? Was it the drama, the "thumpa thumpa," or images of Brian Kinney in his underpants? I guess I'll never know for sure. My next inspiration...season four of Project Runway. Will it lead to a spring PR? I'll let you know in about 14 episodes.