Keeping Pace

Keeping Pace

Archives for May 2012

teetering the edge and finding balance

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My outdoor adventuring has been halted by an acute case of muscle soreness. As you might expect, my indoor activities have been slowed as well.

Although some people are more than happy to live vicariously through others; I am not one of them. I am not content to watch the runners whoosh past. Nor am I satisfied in hearing how fantastic the vinyasa class was when I was not able to join in. I am happy to hear that my loved ones are still doing what they love. I don’t want them to hold back on my account. But, selfishly, I want to be partaking as well.

Last night, I was thumbing through my photos from the month of May when I came across this photo of me teetering in my newly-acquired titibasana pose. The look on my face alone tells the story of how thrilling it feels to find balance in this pose. It is EXHILARATING!

I expected not being able to run for a few days following my race…but yoga? That, I did not expect. It has only been a week since I last practiced my yoga, but it feels like it’s been FOREVER. Until this morning, even the resting poses (like child’s pose) hurt.  Fortunately, the soreness is starting to dissipate.

I cannot wait for the normal ebb and flow to start back up so that I can resume my play in and out doors.  I’m looking forward to finding other places to teeter the edge, and more ways to enjoy the thrill of finding balance in life’s journey.

no baby animals, no macro… [no matter]

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How many times have you wished a situation had been different than it was? Maybe you toe the line, as I did on Sunday, wishing you’d trained differently, with different shoes, or more intensity. Hopefully, you don’t let the imperfections of a situation hinder you from making the best of the experience. Sometimes, you just have to go with it.  Right?

 The day this  photo was taken, my buddy and I set out for the farm to with our selected lenses. We took the minimalist approach and chanced the outcome. Unfortunately, our spotting of the newest additions to the farm were few and far between. We were left to take a shot at capturing some of the farm itself rather than the baby animals we’d come to see.

We both wished we had grabbed that other lens from our camera bags, and prayed that somehow we would manage to come away with a few photos worthy of saving.  Each of us, upon sifting through our own collection of images, was disappointed in our craft.

However… [Read more…]

Lil Lizzie

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Just look at Lil Lizzie, all laid out on the warm statue. She has the right idea, now doesn’t she?

Right about now, I wish I was afforded the same luxury. Believe me, sitting at my desk for 8 hours is that last thing my body needs. Unfortunately, in order for me to provide it with the food it needs, sitting is a neccessary evil.

Finished

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Well, I did it! I finished the race, and the race finished me.

After last weekend’s 17+ mile run, I felt confident enough that I could at least cover the distance. I knew that the steep up and downhill segments of the Quicksilver course would kick my butt, but I was expecting that all along. Having run the race three other times, I toed the line knowing that the technical aspects of the course might also be an issue given that I am only running in Vibram fivefingers. I was nervous.

All along, I’d referred to the race as a “run” rather than a “race.” I guess I felt that somehow this would lessen the pressure of toeing the line. The sleepless hours of my early morning confirmed that my approach had not worked. I got up in an aura of dread. Not exactly how you want to approach your big event.

As I drove to the start, I tried lightening up a bit. I thought about what I would tell my running friends if they had shared feeling this way. Most certainly, I’d tell them that this feeling is somewhat normal. I’d tell them that it’s there for a reason, to make sure that they approached the race with an appropriate amount of respect for all of the time and effort they had put into training for it. Very likely, I’d laugh at them and try to get them to laugh at themselves in turn.

But I was not feeling at all amused. Instead, I was remembering the value of practice racing. Having only my A-race on my calendar, and nothing else, makes handling these pre-race nerves a little too challenging.

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that thinking thing

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On the way to work this morning, I got to thinking. I do that sometimes. Not too much but occasionally.

Anyway, being Mother’s Day this weekend and all, I got to thinking about Father’s Day. I know. I’m weird. But not really. I mean, I was thinking about how I’ve only got one living parent left. ONE! Lord only knows how many years until that changes. Although Mom has agreed to hang out for at least 5, 10 more years (I’d have to read the commentary to get the exact number), neither of us have gotten buy-in from “the big guy” on this. There are never guarantees on these sorts…EVER!

I got to thinking about how challenging it used to be — to keep all of the folks happy on these key holidays (especially on Father’s Day). Make sure the kids spoil their dad — but give him space. Find time to visit my dad, as well as my stepdad (who did the majority of our upbringing). Then there was the paternal grandparent to attend to as well. Keeping everyone happy was next to impossible with only the 2-day weekend.

But all of that has changed. This coming Father’s day, I’ll have none of that. It’s pretty sad, and even sadder to think that it has been this way for my boys for the past 5 years. I want to ask if we can just cross the day off of the calendar – so that we don’t need to think about it. *sigh*

And my point in sharing this?

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