Today, I got something in the mail that made my internal teenager squeal with delight. An autographed 8x10 photograph of
Tony Hawk. Professional Skateboarder, in case the name doesn't mean anything to you. Some people may dismiss skateboarding; it's certainly not a traditional sport, and somehow its appeal to 'tween and teen boys doesn't help its mainstream image. But I've had a long-standing thing for TH. and skateboarding, and frankly, skateboarders are intense athletes.
The Tony Hawk Foundation has helped build skateparks in low-income communities across the country. *Helped* build. One of their requirements for granting funds is that it be a community initiative. Their mission statement is worth reading.
In early January, I stumbled upon a link to www.skatewatts.org -- a fundraising effort to build a skatepark in Watts. The Tony Hawk Foundation was matching donations, and I threw a few dollars their way. (I also threw a lot of money towards more pressing social causes, but that's beside the point).
Today, I came home and found an unexpected thank-you gift in the mail. So I'm grinning.
_____________________________________
And yet, I still haven't answered 21c.mom's question from the comment on the last post.
Due to circumstances not worth explaining to my limited portion of the blogosphere, I ended up running my first "official" 5K (as an adult; I ran some as a kid) on about 2 hours of sleep. I still met my original goals, but not my revised (more ambitious) goal. And frankly, I could have pushed harder. So I'm a) generally pleased about the whole experience and will do it again, and b) completely irked with myself for not having pushed it just a bit harder. Next time. And I'm already looking at 10Ks for the not-too-distant future.
I gave myself the week following the 5K off from running. I donated blood, did pilates, took long walks with friends, and realized yet again that trapeze is easier when your legs aren't leaden.
Last night's 2-mile return to running might have been a little easier had I not hiked 6 fairly strenuous miles on Valentine's Day and then walked 6 miles before running the following day. But it felt good, regardless.
Now, off to do something more productive, or at least more physical, than sitting here *writing* about running.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
prospects
prospect n.
(1)an extensive view
(2)a mental consideration
(3)a place that commands an extensive view
(4)the act of looking forward
(5)a mental picture of something to come
(6)something that is awaited or expected : possibility
No, this isn't a Superbowl post. I'm not a football fan by any stretch of the imagination. Hockey's my spectator sport of choice, at least when it comes to mainstream arena sports. I had a crush on Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings for the entirely of his playing career, and I don't think it will ever go away. That's not actually why I love watching the game, but it doesn't hurt. And Yzerman has been one of my heroes for about the same length of time, but that's a story for another day.
But I've been considering prospects.
Not romantic prospects; I'm extraordinarily lucky to have found El Bandito early in our lives and luckier still in that we've grown in complementary directions.
Job prospects (no immediate changes in sight). The position I took in May was certainly not my "dream job", although I'm no longer sure exactly what that is. There are many things I imagine doing, but most of them would require the circumstances of my life to be so different as to be unrecognizable, and I'm not willing to make those choices. Nonetheless, it's a job, which in this economy is a serious plus. There are many times when it's interesting and challenging, but I also feel underutilized.
Race prospects -- well, there is a little matter of a 5k on Sunday morning. I am taking 21cmom's advice and rethinking my goals. My goal was simply "run the whole thing", since the last time I ran anything official I was not yet old enough to drive. But frankly, I have been running enough over the last few years that that's a fairly achievable goal. So I've rethought my goals, considered her suggestion, and revised my time goal down. If it means I go out too fast and walk a few feet, no big deal.
Signing up for the 5k did exactly what I wanted it to; it helped me get out running more consistently. And, it convinced me that I am indeed doing Muddy Buddy this year. I've wanted to ever since I discovered it on Stronger's blog in 2007(?), but my shoulder wasn't ready in 2008 and I couldn't find a willing partner in 2009. 2010, however, is on the calendar. The San Jose race.
Other prospects? Certainly. Like anticipating how wonderful bed will be when I get there. My trapeze class tonight was hard work.
But even better than all of these, All Soul's Prospect.
As part of my 2010 goals, I'm trying to spend more time and energy envisioning and remembering the things which make me truly happy. This is one of them.
This is from our September hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies. Part of the "Alpine Circuit" above Lake O'Hara. We got snowed on. I grinned like an idiot. The view was amazing from this spot, the official All Soul's Prospect. The trail was a little difficult to locate at times. Although we stopped here, it was a short break, as it was too exposed to sit there long. The cairn at the prospect blocked some but not all of the wind,
(1)an extensive view
(2)a mental consideration
(3)a place that commands an extensive view
(4)the act of looking forward
(5)a mental picture of something to come
(6)something that is awaited or expected : possibility
No, this isn't a Superbowl post. I'm not a football fan by any stretch of the imagination. Hockey's my spectator sport of choice, at least when it comes to mainstream arena sports. I had a crush on Steve Yzerman of the Detroit Red Wings for the entirely of his playing career, and I don't think it will ever go away. That's not actually why I love watching the game, but it doesn't hurt. And Yzerman has been one of my heroes for about the same length of time, but that's a story for another day.
But I've been considering prospects.
Not romantic prospects; I'm extraordinarily lucky to have found El Bandito early in our lives and luckier still in that we've grown in complementary directions.
Job prospects (no immediate changes in sight). The position I took in May was certainly not my "dream job", although I'm no longer sure exactly what that is. There are many things I imagine doing, but most of them would require the circumstances of my life to be so different as to be unrecognizable, and I'm not willing to make those choices. Nonetheless, it's a job, which in this economy is a serious plus. There are many times when it's interesting and challenging, but I also feel underutilized.
Race prospects -- well, there is a little matter of a 5k on Sunday morning. I am taking 21cmom's advice and rethinking my goals. My goal was simply "run the whole thing", since the last time I ran anything official I was not yet old enough to drive. But frankly, I have been running enough over the last few years that that's a fairly achievable goal. So I've rethought my goals, considered her suggestion, and revised my time goal down. If it means I go out too fast and walk a few feet, no big deal.
Signing up for the 5k did exactly what I wanted it to; it helped me get out running more consistently. And, it convinced me that I am indeed doing Muddy Buddy this year. I've wanted to ever since I discovered it on Stronger's blog in 2007(?), but my shoulder wasn't ready in 2008 and I couldn't find a willing partner in 2009. 2010, however, is on the calendar. The San Jose race.
Other prospects? Certainly. Like anticipating how wonderful bed will be when I get there. My trapeze class tonight was hard work.
But even better than all of these, All Soul's Prospect.
As part of my 2010 goals, I'm trying to spend more time and energy envisioning and remembering the things which make me truly happy. This is one of them.
This is from our September hiking trip in the Canadian Rockies. Part of the "Alpine Circuit" above Lake O'Hara. We got snowed on. I grinned like an idiot. The view was amazing from this spot, the official All Soul's Prospect. The trail was a little difficult to locate at times. Although we stopped here, it was a short break, as it was too exposed to sit there long. The cairn at the prospect blocked some but not all of the wind,
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