Sky in Spring

Before sunrise, glimpse of lunar eclipse.
Post sunset, a long look at the ISS.

Hope you got to enjoy your space this Saturday.

Can I Get a Motion?

Things one can do when the weather is less than optimal:

• Long run at 32 degrees
• Drink coffee and make breakfast
• Buy "Love" stamps for love letters
• Clean out your closet (including the lingering bridesmaid dress that you, in fact, never wore again)
• Bike at 43 degrees
• Drink coffee and make dinner
• Wear compression socks
• Knit
• Binge watch Netflix

Hope your Saturday has been warm and full of things that make you smile.

I Walk and See Lines

Sometimes one needs to have a hiatus from something to determine whether or not that thing brings joy or whether it has become a habit to fill time and pass the present.  Since my last city move, I've done this annually with reading water, periodically with music, occasionally with dating, and this year with writing.

As I was cleaning out old boxes last weekend, I found journals from the late 80s and thumbed through a few.  Even then, I had pages each day to write.  [Content of course was a little mundane but how much excitement can one have in high school in rural america pre-cell phone? But oh my, at the bubble cursive!]

I've also been working on being in the present.  I have found this has reduced quite a bit of anxiety and my lung capacity has likely increased by at least one-third from all the random deep breaths.  I now notice a bit more on random walks, like colors projected on a building with a hint of a moon in the background.

So here we are, Friday.  I hope yours carries the color of happy.

Downtown Rocket City
(via unfiltered iphone)
January 2015

Bike-ause I Can

The great thing about being head of household is that one can decide that riding a bike on an October 75 degree day has more intrinsic value than mowing one's lawn.  Today was my first solo (non-racing ride) since I can remember (and possibly ever).  It took a fair amount of gumption to get out there on a course where obstacles weren't controlled by volunteers and I had a few observations:

• leisurely riding is fun
• kids on bikes are wildcards
• kids on BMX bikes are greater wildcards
• leaves, while pretty, can be slippery 
• have good posture; you might see your spin teacher
• beware of rocket scientists - they build items of mobile transport that look like a combination of a skateboard, bike, unicycle with wide turning radii
• it's a friendly town and people want to say hi.  Use ventriloquist-like skills to do this without opening your mouth.  Leisure riding on nice trails = bugs (and lots of people who want to say hi)
• have the best best posture ever because you might pass your yoga teacher (shoulder blades down)
• dogs on a taut leash > dogs on a loose leash

Above all, give up chores for outdoor play.  

"The Greatest Ideas are the Simplest"

Author's note:  This is a long espresso-driven vignette with a book tie-in at the end.  

Saturday was a cool, crisp autumn day with a few yellow and orange leaves hanging on.  It was a perfect day for a hike so a friend and I decided to tackle a path which has been described as "The Grand Canyon of the South".  I've met a few people who had recently done the walk, and it was billed to be an approximately six hour hike with ~3.5 miles each way and an elevation change of 1,000 feet.  Totally doable and a perfectly peaceful way to begin the weekend.  

The first tip that this hike might not be the idealistic zen journey I had pictured was in the gravel parking lot.  Boy Scout Troops #Y was in the house. (We'll preserve their identity as minors.)  We also noticed pretty early that we were the only pair in (layered) running gear.  (This would later turn out to be an advantage.)  The journey down included a few switchbacks and we passed several couples and families who were taking it easy, but predominately the only sound was the crunch of leaf underfoot and the odd leaf blowing (tayin') in the wind.  Nice.

As we neared the 2.5 mile mark, voices were heard nearby.  Yelling , laughing, and the typical noises of youth rising so we suspected we were nearing a campground with the Troops.  As we approached the last narrow trek to the crevasse, the cacophony rose to a peak and we could see the Troops assembling in a little brown line spackled with various arm badges.  It was time for a split second call:  run to get ahead of these 40 boys or follow them to the end of the track (~half mile or so).  It seems an easy call, right?

So we ran and I sprinted over rocks with my best impression of a gazelle.  We were at the front of the pack headed toward the Walls.  In just a few short minutes, this decision was soon realized to be a gross error.  Underestimating the ferocity of youth and the sugar high that comes from too many energy bars for breakfast, they were quickly on our tail and the next 20 minutes was spent climbing over rocks in a single line formation with such varied topics at my shoulder to include these remarks:

• Coach's nicknames was Sunshine when he was in [redacted].
•    No it wasn't. Yes it was. [repeat 10 times.]
• The sun does not rotate. Gravity and time are not related.
• We're going to start a business selling souvenirs from [current site]. Who wants to run it? Call it! [insert long, drawn-out reverse countdown by a breaking voice here]

Luckily the area at the end of the trail was wide, so any adult not in the company of a 10-12 year old khaki or green pants kid took a break on the rocks until they soaked up nature and left.  

Quiet.  

The sound of babbling brooks and aging bones climbing rock.  This was the trip I expected.

The journey back began in this same tone with the sound of falling water to accompany the initial walk.  I even didn't mind getting passed by an oldie.  It was peaceful.

We trekked by the boy scout camp and it seemed they were starting to assemble lunch and/or napping.  The coast was clear for the rest of the journey.  The transition to upward descent is marked by crossing a creek with a "bridge" made from half a tree.  It was at this point we saw the group on the other side.  The scouts!  Apparently there had been two groups, and these were the 20 or so that were hiking out together (in red shirts).  We'd learned our lesson and slowly walked behind them.  Easy enough...slow pace and fairly quiet since we were behind the adult leaders.

After ten minutes or so, they noticed our presence and halted the Troop so we could pass.  [Um, thanks.] We made our way to the head of the line with the kids following.  Did I mention they had six foot poles to assist their climb?  Did I mention they were still running and despite the uphill climb one particular child still had the vocal capacities to continually proclaim he wanted to be first?  Their presence just behind me and the sound that their bamboo poles made when striking rock as they were hiking left me thinking of only one book....Lord of the Flies.  

I could barely keep my speed up the hill for laughing (and being slightly afraid).  Luckily, the troop leaders needed frequently breaks so we were able to pull ahead with my heart nicely in tact.  Despite the extended lunch stop and photo shoots, we made the round trip in four hours.

Hope your weekend has a fun book reference (sans drumming)!

Zoo-lander

A little dose of cuteness for your Friday.  This little guy can sleep for up to 18 hours at a stretch.  (If your week has been as busy as mine, few things sound better at the moment.)

Koala Bear, Cairns, Australia
September 2012

And always remember kids, don't feed the animals.

For Everything There is a Season

This morning's run through the woods had me thinking about nature (and on my decision to have Half Ironman finishers as running partners during my recovery...but that's for another day).  The trees were shades of Golden Delicious, hints of Gala and pops of Red Delicious.  The morning was crisp and the air smelled like autumn.  Near the end of the run however, I got a stark reminder that all beautiful things have an ending when I encountered a dead doe on the edge of the trail.

Lou Reed's obituary by his wife, Laurie Anderson, was simple and lovely. She makes reference to nature, trees and movement in the wind.  I'm including the link to the Sydney Herald print because the accompanying photos are lovely captures of the couple.

What's in a Name?

I think it was fitting that the last book I read in 2012 was WILD by Cheryl Strayed.  [Special thanks to GBC P@1ge for this selection.]  I've long believed that I tend to "find" books when I'm ready for them, and I think in this case I was ready to admit that I could well identify with some aspects of Ms. Strayed's memoir.  Life as normal, chaos, loss, chaos, crazy thread of an idea to regroup.  In her case, she opted to regroup via hiking the Pacific Crest Trail solo.

I've done a number of crazy things solo (volunteer in France?) but hiking for any length of time would likely scare me out of skin.  My most memorable experience back-packing in one run-on sentence:  an external frame, lopsidedly-loaded pack, a fall into a creek on day one, a complete soaking by cold spring water when I couldn't lift out because of the weight of the pack, overnight freezing (night two), and the most adamant determination to hike two days work of miles (14) in one day just to get out (and eat something not pre-packaged in foil).  This connected me with Strayed's pack "Monster."   I could also identify with those moments when one expected tears because it IS hard and none come, and then the surprise "grab you" moment when emotion surfaces unexpected, unplanned...the regrouping bits.

I'd recommend this read in your 2013 list (or when you're ready).