Starting on the right foot ...

(Bruc and I on his first run on the country road oustide Enguera, Spain)

Over Easter weekend I had a "milestone moment" that I think is worth sharing... and whether or not you agree, I'm still going to post it ('cause this is my blog, and I'm the boss here).  There are always points in time throughout any trajectory that are more or less worthy of recognition.  My son is not yet 6 and, in fact, still doesn't fully comprehend what Daddy's running is really all about (If he figures it out, I hope he lets me know ...I'm stumped too!)  However, he's starting to accept the fact that ... well ... Daddy runs.  Why, where to, and all the other variables keep him scratching his head, but at least he's coming to terms with the "What" ... and yes: Daddy runs.

I normally run on weekdays during my lunch break (here in Spain they sometimes call it "siesta" ... most get 2-hour midday breaks and that works great for shorter runs ... the drawback? ... later evenings at the office) and if the midday thing doesn't work I "sneak" out of the house after the kids are in bed and sleeping ... (back to the drawbacks of the 2hr siesta: I work until 8, the kids get to bed around 9, I get dressed and out of the house before 10 if I'm lucky ... and depending on the mileage/kilometrage you can do the math ... some late LATE nights in the peak of the training season - but we'll save that for another post...)  When the weekends roll around, I try to coordinate my plans with family events so as not to interfere with the flow of things ... at times we head down to the beach and I disappear for a run ... or we head to the mountain trails above Barcelona and while the picnic is getting ready I run ... or I get out of, and back into the house [far too] early ...

So, where is all of this leading? ... When my son does "catch" me and see's me running it sparks his curiosity ... which is often accompanied by protest (It could be worse, he could tell me to get lost).  I'm overjoyed that he always wants me to stick around, yet torn by the fact that I need to get in my training ... and it's hard to make him understand it'll only be an hour or two ...  That's where this "milestone moment" occurred (I know, cut to the chase, right?) ... I got geared up and was about to head out for a long run when I got snagged with my hand in the proverbial cookie jar.  Dressed, laced up, heartrate monitor strap and GPS locked onto the satellites I walked out the front gate right as he stepped out the back door of the house where we were spending our weekend holiday ... BUSTED! ... I thought it was going to be more of the same: "Daddy, don't run ... c'mon! ... let's play catch, let's kick the ball, let's do something..." but he just said "wait one second, I gotta get something ...." he ran back into the house and a few moments later reappeared in shorts, t-shirt and his "gym" sneakers ... "I can come with you, right? ... Please??!!" ... he didn't have to beg, I could see by how his face lit up with the joy of his own idea, that there was no way to resist....

Of course I had to modify my plans for that run, but I can assure you that on that day I ran one of my happiest and certainly my most memorable 1.25 kilometers ever! ...

I'll post more later ... Gotta run!
Ryan

You can take it with you wherever you go...

So, back from Easter weekend vacation with the family down in the
outskirts of Valencia... I'm back to work now and into "the swing of
things" ... trying to get into the familiar rhythm of work, etc ...
you know: ROUTINE. It's good for all of us. I've found that
vacations, travel, and sometimes even just plain 'ol weekends can
really stir things up a little ... especially when I'm in "training
mode".

One of the nice things I've found about running, of course, is that
you can take it with you wherever you go. It doesn't take up much
space in your suitcase (except for my size 13 Asics) and there's
virtually no place you can't unpack 'em and head out there for some
quality mileage/kilometers. I've got some great memories of "vacation
runs" in tons of places like NY/NJ, Sunny Florida, Tuscany,
California, Valencia ... Hawaii ... and all around Barcelona. I think
it has more to do with wanting to see where you are from a different
angle. Sometimes your run will grant you a perspective that you
wouldn't have noticed otherwise ... I particularly like the ones that
are better without the headphones, just looking and listening ... (and
hopefully not having to be too much on the lookout for traffic). This
weekend I got back out on [one of my favorites] the country road that
leads out of town from my wife's father's childhood villiage Enguera.
Aside from the steady strides and rythmic breathing ... I was all
alone out there with the olive trees, orange groves, grasshoppers,
warm dry air and the rolling ribbon of asphalt that leads over the
arid ground through the hills of the scenic spanish countryside.

Most people in the villiage can't understand why I'd get out on that
road and ... run.
Most people in the villiage have never been out there listening to
what I've heard.