This Sat. we will continue our move to increase mileage. We will be going for 6 miles. We'll stay on the flats and head just a bit further north. I was told that they may start the Run Walk Groups a bit earlier than usual, so please meet at the school by 7am. We saw our first rain this week, and it was a good reminder that we probably will see some rain during our training sessions. For the first timers, yes...we still meet on Sat. for training..rain or shine. As we found out so well last year, they also run Marathons in the rain.
So just as a primer, the only difference in preparing to run in the rain, is that you bring a change of clothes which you keep in the car for after the run. I usually bring a change of everything from socks to underwear and a towel, even an extra pair of dry shoes. During the actual run, do not bring big bulky warm sweatshirts or jackets, they will only get wet and get very heavy and soggy. If anything, you might invest in a very thin plastic poncho, or a very lightweight nylon or synthetic windbreaker. Once you get wet...you don't get wetter....you're just wet. It's only when you stop that the problems could arise, and that is why you immediately change into dry clothes.
I don't believe there is any rain in the forecast for this weekend, but the odds are that we will experience some rain during this season. Last year, one of our best runs was the 20miler and we got totally drenched about half way out, and it was the most fun we ever had.
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This week there seem to be still some turmoil happening in our lives, and my astrology friend would not be surprised by this. Lots of change, good and bad happens when the planets do their thing, and if you know how to read the movements, you would concur.
We lost a great innovator with the passing of Steve Jobs of Apple. I know a lot of his quotes have been showing up on the web and the various social media postings. I was surprised to learn a bit more about him from some of these articles and because he was such a private person, I didn't realize all the changes he went through in his personal life. I'm a few years older than him, and so I can relate to some of "hippy" things about his life, the drugs, the dropping out, the different ways of thinking.
And even though I don't use any "i" products...no iPhone, no iPod, or iPad, I do understand their appeal. I don't always agree with the Apple methods, but I do respect all that he has done and pushed for, and how innovative some of the products are. Being Different has never been so well marketed.
The other drama in our house is that my youngest daughter Anna, called me yesterday...virtually in tears because she found out she made the Varsity basketball team as a sophomore. She's been practicing and playing with them... a solid bench player, but she really hoped that she would not make the cut and then would play for the Jr. Varsity team instead. It's a bit more difficult to explain how getting what seems like good news can be bad. Ultimately, she rather play for the JV coach than for the Varsity coach, because she feels the JV coach is a better one, he actually encourages the girls and there is a better sense of team and comraderie. The Varsity coach is not a terrible person, but much more strict and critical of poor play, it's just the difference of personalities and style.
My final story is about one of my students from last year, whom I recommended along with a few others for a staff job position at an Ad agency. I teach a class in video editing at a local university, and the ad agency whom I used to get a lot of work from was hiring an assistant editor. I submitted 5 names, who all got interviews, and after a very rigorous round of interviews and call backs, and actual editing tests at the agency, it came down to this one person, my former student, and she was offered the job. I believe all the applicants were all qualified, and I'm sure there were others also, who might have had more experience, but talking to the producer who was doing the hiring, it came down to the personality and her innovative "outside the box" thinking. She is a very energetic and can even be considered quirky, both in her personality and her dress, and I believe it is this quality that got her the job.
We all go through life the best we know how, the fact that we're still around attests to some kind of survival skill which we possess, some of us a bit better oft than not, but we're somehow getting through it. At some point, we will all die and pass on, and that is just the fact, again some of us will go a bit more gracefully than others. So in the final analysis, what has been the point, what have we done for ourselves, or perhaps the more important question is what have we done for others, what have we contributed to the world, have we made a "dent" as Steve has supposedly said was all he wanted to do.
For me, having been through some good and bad times, it's all about how one treats others. I would like to think that if I might not have left any significant mark on this universe, that at least I was able to know that I treated a few people in a manner which I believe was how it was supposed to be, simple acts of respect and kindness. This may seem simplistic, but knowing how awful it feels to be treated otherwise, I knew that I would work on not doing that to anyone...ever again.
Sometimes, it's difficult to have a clear vision, it's easily muddled by the promise of success, wealth, status, or a Varsity shot, but the tougher call is to remember what is more important, spreading good feelings, watching out for others, and the ability to be oneself, and even to dare to be different.
It may not be that simple to understand how running and training in a group of complete strangers will affect us and others, for the rest of our lives, but maybe it's the simple things we do, the chances we take, the dreams we allow ourselves to have, to just try and attain something unattainable, that will make the difference.
All we can do is try,
see you early,
Walt
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