Still Lovin' Where I Live

So my new favorite place on earth is the Virgina Creeper Trail. If you aren't familiar with this 34-mile Rails-to-Trails project, then you haven't read my blog very much. We love to go up there and hike, and since purchasing bikes, we've added cycling to the mix. It is absolutely beautiful - high trestles cross over rivers and fields, and the wide trail cuts through rock and open countryside. All parts of the trail run downhill towards the Holston river, so it's an easy ride if you plan it right. Daniel and I planned it right on Tuesday - I took the day off and we met friends for a trek from Abingdon to the river and back. Cool for the ride out and warmer for the ride back, it was a lovely day. Picnic lunch, lots of laughs, great exercise - not a bad way to spend the day.

Summer Camp!

Ben is back from camp! Looks like he had fun!

I Love Where I Live

The End

Like you didn't know this post was coming.

So, it's officially over. My favorite TV show of all time has come to a close. And I of course have some thoughts about how it all went down.

At 11:30 on Sunday night, I was sitting in front of the TV with my chin in my hands thinking "WTF?" Which is a very normal pose and thought for me to have at the conclusion of any episode of LOST. But this was different, because it was the last one. No tuning in next week to find out what all that was about. And so I was left to figure it all out.

Some things immediately stood out. The sideways was amazing. I have loved the sideways storylines all season. I loved seeing the characters interact with one another in a totally different set of circumstances. In the very first episode, Jack and Locke had that discussion at the lost baggage desk and it hit me "In a different world, these two people might have had a completely different relationship." And so they did. And so did everyone else. It was a real treat to watch. Ben and Locke were my favorites.

But in the finale, the sideways took on a whole new life. The scenes where the characters found each other were so well written and so well acted - possibly the best scenes in the history of the show. I loved Sun and Jin looking at Sawyer when they had it figured out and he didn't. I loved that Kate's touchstone was neither Jack nor Sawyer, but Aaron. And I LOVED the scene with Ben and Locke outside the church. LOST has always been about the characters for me, and the finale was ALL about the characters.

As far as the resolution went, it took me about 24-hours, but I was finally OK with it. I'm comfortable that I understand the ending (and clearly, many viewers didn't) and I like it. A Lot. Not what I wanted and not at all what I expected, but a good ending. It really seemed more like a finale to season six, and maybe not to the whole series, but season six stood apart from the others anyway, and so it is what it is.

I was disappointed that so few questions were answered in the end, but I can see how it would be nearly impossible to go back and touch on all the mysteries from where they were in the story at this point. They would have had to resort to monologuing, and that would have sucked. The thing I was most disappointed to not know was the origin of the statue and the Egyptian influence. I remember getting chills - chills on top of chills - in season five when we saw the completed statue for the first time. To still not know how it got there was a real disappointment.

Other things worth noting:

1. As always, the music was phenomenal. I especially liked the light-hearted "ting" at the end (in contrast to the usual "thunk".)
2. Jimmy Kimmel's alternate endings were awesome, although I didn't get the second one until it was explained later.
3. Even in the sideways, Ben gets beaten up. How great is that?
4. Didn't catch it at the time, but at the very beginning of season six, Rose tells Jack "You can let go now." Indeed you can.

And all those Losties out there can let go too. As they said in The Truman Show, wonder what else is on?

Race Day!

Saturday was the big day! The Foot RX 5K! (Foot RX is a running shoe/accessory store in town, and they partner with our Wellness Center to sponsor a road race every year). Back in March, the four of us committed to train together and run the race. We all agreed to set a goal for ourselves and train to meet that goal by race day. Ben and I both decided to run the entire race. Mark was still coming off the DL with a foot injury (the one that sidelined him for Chasing Snakes) and has some soreness in his knee, so his goal was just to finish the race - run as much as he felt good about, and walk the rest. DP never got around to setting a goal because almost immediately, he got invited to a sleepover the night before the race (where activities included seeing Iron Man 2 at the drive-in). He agreed to keep training with us if he could skip the race and go to the party. We agreed.

And then there were three.

Ben really impressed me in our training. We ran on a 1/2 mile track, and we added distance every time we trained - trying to run more and walk less each time. Ben got to where he could run all six laps well before me. For our last training run, we ran the actual race route, which is around the park where our office is. There is a steep hill at the start, then it's level street running for a couple of miles, then we move to a greenway (paved path off-road) which is a very steady incline. It's a hard course, especially for beginners. The night we ran it pre-race, it was 80 degrees. I thought I might die. But I ran the entire route. I was really jacked for the race.

Here we are on race morning:




Aren't the shirts cool?

We didn't want to tote a camera around, so we didn't get any actual race pictures. If any get posted by the sponsors, I'll re-post.

We had awesome weather. Lots of our friends were there. The mood was upbeat. Lots of encouragement on all fronts.

And we did it! Ben ran the whole race and finished in 25 minutes on the nose. He finished in sixth place for his age group and 81st overall (out of a total 316)!! I was so proud of him!

I finished in 27:02 and I ran the entire race - no walking! But I wanted to quit so badly. I think I felt worse during the race than on the 80-degree training run. Maybe I didn't eat enough breakfast or needed more water, but I struggled. I didn't quit though! I was 128th overall, so I finished in the top half. I was pleased.

Mark finished in 31:08, 214th overall. He was worried he would be dead last, but there were 102 people still behind him! I think he was pleased with himself as well - he didn't get injured, and he made a good showing. He ran more than he walked, and ran more than he had in any of our training runs, I think.

I was the one who didn't feel so great afterward - I think my BP must have dropped because right after I stopped running and stood around for a few minutes, I got really light-headed. I got water and oranges, and sat down for while. I finally walked it off on the way to the car and felt fine after.

There is another race coming up in June, and Ben has already committed to running it. I have volunteered to help with it, so I will be behind-the-scenes for that one (I hope I get to be on the course and direct the runners or call out times or something - I think that would be fun.) Not sure about Mark and Daniel at this point.

Ben has really enjoyed himself. He plans to go out for cross country next year. Who knew this would be a new hobby for him? And a new hobby that gets him outside and active. Good times. Very, very good times.

Court of Honor

Last night, Troop 37 held its Spring Court of Honor - Daniel's first as an official Boy Scout.

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Ben was one of five boys recognized for completing a 15-mile backpacking adventure over Spring Break.

Daniel earned his Boy Scout badge.

And Ben earned the merit badge for Emergency Preparedness.

Good times.

What I'm Reading Now

A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth.

A little back story. I was in Barnes and Noble a year or so back and was perusing the staff favorites. Someone had put out this behemoth of a book called A Suitable Boy and just went on and on and on about how good it was. The thing that stood out to me the most was its sheer size - it was 1400 pages long. Epically long books can be a life-changing experience, like when I read Les Miserables in high school. You get immersed, you get attached, you miss it when it's gone - you know the drill. I made a mental note to read A Suitable Boy "some time down the road - some time when I have time to read such a tome."

Flash forward to late summer, early fall of last year.

My mom sends me newspaper clippings. Always has. It's just what she does. (In an interesting side note, my college roommate Jennifer and I had a major bonding experience when I learned that her mom was also a little freakish about sending her newspaper clippings, but I digress.) Mom sends me an editorial written by a woman who couldn't finish a book. She loved to read - read all the time in fact - but had discovered lately that she had started a number of books and hadn't been able to finish a one of them. Her fear was that Facebook status updates and tweets and even blogs, while all perfectly fine things to read, had ruined her for reading anything of any length or substance. She feared she was no longer reading fresh produce, if you will, but was only reading junk food.

Her solution? She drug out some huge favorite book from her formative years like Crime and Punishment or Little Dorrit (can't remember exactly what book it was) and forced herself to re-read it. But she didn't have to force herself for long - once she got into it, it was smooth sailing. The avid book-lover in her took over and she never even thought about giving up. She considered herself cured.

I read this little blurb about the same time I had given up reading a Pat Conroy, an Anne Rivers Siddons, and a handful of other authors so forgettable that I've already forgotten them. I had started many a book, and put down many a book, unfinished. Nothing grabbed me. So this harmless little newspaper clipping disturbed me a little.

Maybe it wasn't the books, maybe it was me. Maybe I just couldn't focus long enough to finish a book anymore. Maybe this brave new world of instant information had ruined my attention span. Maybe irreparably.

And while this disturbed me, I didn't really do much about it. I kept reading, finished some books, and put down some books too. But I kept having this nagging feeling that I really needed to read something epic. Something life changing. In short, something long.

And then I remembered A Suitable Boy. I bought it and got to reading. I'm about a third of the way in and liking it. It's set in India, and I have learned that I don't know anything at all about India. I'm enjoying discovering how little I know. And I like the characters. And the writing style.

And I especially like having a really long book, one that I enjoy, one that just sort of sits there, week after week, waiting for me to come by and enjoy it for a few minutes. It may take me a while to read it, but I'm OK with that. I'm reading it. And that's a good thing.

First Day of Spring on the AT

We had a great first day of spring! We got up early and met the scout troop for a hike on the AT across Watauga Dam. We hiked four miles, all around Watauga lake - it was a GORGEOUS day.

Boys who are planning to go on a backpacking trip over spring break had to carry 20 pounds of water in their packs as a training exercise. Ben was up for it; Daniel not so much. We gave Ben 24 bottles of water, which he carried the whole way. (When we got home, I weighed one bottle and I think he carried more like 28 pounds of water!) He was a LIMP noodle when we got done, but he managed two baseball scrimmages and a practice that afternoon, so it obviously didn't kill him!

(Why is he so tired? His pack was practically empty.)

(Ben looks a lot better than he feels at this point.)

It was a great day to be outside!

Chasing Snakes* 2010

Well folks, yesterday was the day. The day I had been training for for the past six weeks. My first ever 10K road race: The 2010 Chasing Snakes* 10K Road Race, sponsored by St. John's Episcopal Church. The race raises money for the Interfaith Hospitality Network, and sports a festive St. Patrick's Day theme.

My goal was to run half and walk half, and I mapped out the course in half-mile segments. I ran a half-mile, then walked a half-mile, ran a half-mile, walked a half-mile, for 6.2 miles. That was the plan anyway.

And I did it! I did all my training on a track, and the race was run on a fairly hilly course. So it hurt a little. And I really thought I would quit a few times. But I didn't. I did everything that I promised myself I would do. And I can't describe to you what that feels like.


Me, Mark, and Showtime before the race. Mark planned to do the 10K too, but he just came off of the DL with a sore foot - he had to be at a conference for work the very next day and didn't want to risk re-injury. He and Michelle (aka Mrs. Showtime) did the 4k Fitness Walk instead. (Mrs. Showtime is not pictured as she is the one with the camera.)


Here I am right after my big finish. 1:10:36. I finished number 281 out of 333. There were 52 people slower than me!! Mark, Ben, and Daniel were at the finish line cheering me on. (Ben and Daniel also served me water a third of way through with the scout troop as a service project.)

Showtime finished in 1:02 and came back to the 6 mile mark to encourage me to run to the end. Which I did. : )
Me and my cheerleading peeps. I think they're proud of me. Ben said he now wants to train for a road race too. Maybe we'll do a 5K and train to run the whole thing. Who knows.

Here's what I do know: It is an amazingly wonderful thing to not be able to do something, work hard, and then do it. And do it with your loving family, good friends, and even total strangers cheering you on. I encourage you to challenge yourself, some way, some how. You'll be glad you did!

*No snakes were injured in the running of this race.

Blue and Gold 2010

Friday night Pack 37 held their Blue and Gold banquet. Daniel was the man of the hour, earning the Arrow of Light, being recognized for earning every single Webelos activity badge, and last but not least, crossing over into Boy Scouts.

Mark and I got to participate in that last part as parents, and Ben as a member of the Troop the scouts are crossing over to. Three grandparents came to see the big event as well. It was a great family event!

We are very proud of both of our Boy Scouts!









Humorous anecdote - in the fifth photo, you see Daniel being welcomed by his new Troop, and a Life Scout from that Troop tying his new neckerchief. In a moment of great irony, the Life Scout was not able to tie the square knot needed for the neckchief tying. This went on several moments before the Troop leader leaned in and said "Jesus, Chris, you're a Boy Scout." Good times.