And, here's one. Just to see if Shayna is actually reading the blog!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
A day with Shayna
A few weeks ago Kevin took the kids down to New Paltz to see Shayna. Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the day.
And, here's one. Just to see if Shayna is actually reading the blog!
And, here's one. Just to see if Shayna is actually reading the blog!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Long Overdue Update
Well, there's good news and not-so-good news. Isn't that the way it usually is?
The not-so-good news: Let's get that out of the way first.
I still do not have clearance to run. It's going to be at least a couple of more weeks. This is extremely frustrating for me.
At this point, I'm having to rethink my ability to race the Northern Columbia Tri in early August. I'm not sure how ready I'll be.
The good news:
I have clearance to bike, and have been taking advantage of the opportunity. I loaned my Coda to a friend, so I put the Fuji on the trainer. It's been great! It is a fairly different feel from the Coda, and I'm using leg muscles in a different way than I do with the Coda.
The waterproof case for the IPod has been a life saver! It works great, and it makes my pool running much more palatable. So, a couple of times a week, I've been hitting 25 minute pool running sessions.
My swim is improving. Last night, I hit 2:30/100 yard for a 600 yard swim. That's about 10 seconds/ 100 faster than my usual times. It's not even close to competitive- but really? Who am I kidding? I'm lucky to not need arm floaties!
So, in the now immortal words of Dorie: I'll "Just keep swimming"
The not-so-good news: Let's get that out of the way first.
I still do not have clearance to run. It's going to be at least a couple of more weeks. This is extremely frustrating for me.
At this point, I'm having to rethink my ability to race the Northern Columbia Tri in early August. I'm not sure how ready I'll be.
The good news:
I have clearance to bike, and have been taking advantage of the opportunity. I loaned my Coda to a friend, so I put the Fuji on the trainer. It's been great! It is a fairly different feel from the Coda, and I'm using leg muscles in a different way than I do with the Coda.
The waterproof case for the IPod has been a life saver! It works great, and it makes my pool running much more palatable. So, a couple of times a week, I've been hitting 25 minute pool running sessions.
My swim is improving. Last night, I hit 2:30/100 yard for a 600 yard swim. That's about 10 seconds/ 100 faster than my usual times. It's not even close to competitive- but really? Who am I kidding? I'm lucky to not need arm floaties!
So, in the now immortal words of Dorie: I'll "Just keep swimming"
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Sometimes, it's the little things.
Last night was the meeting of "Bookin' Feet". We had a pretty big group of girls this week, and the weather was beautiful. The challenge for me was to find a place where they could run for some distance, and I could stand in the middle and see both ends. We found a hill in the park that is about .10 of a mile long. The goal for them was to run down and back as many times as possible.
We started with some warm up exercises, and two of the girls seemed very uninterested in participating. They were dancing and being fairly inappropriate for being in a park. So, I called them on it pretty quickly. I asked the one girl flat out, "Why are you here?" She didn't have much of an answer, but her whole attitude changed. Girl # 2 tends to follow the first girl. When girl #1 isn't at the group, girl 2, is a great runner. SO, I told her that. She came around pretty quickly too.
Then the real run! Those two girls both ran a mile! Another girl ran 1.2, and another did 1.4!! There were 2 other girls, who each ran about .5 of a mile, but I don't think either one was feeling well.
At the end of the run, I pulled out 4x6 note cards and wrote:
4/13/2010
[name] ran 1 mile today!
And, half of it was uphill!
It was such a little thing. But, you know what: Each of those girls held onto those cards for the rest of the day. They showed their parents when they were picked up, and 2 said they were taking them in to show their PE teachers.
Sometimes, it's the little things that make all the difference.
-Peace
We started with some warm up exercises, and two of the girls seemed very uninterested in participating. They were dancing and being fairly inappropriate for being in a park. So, I called them on it pretty quickly. I asked the one girl flat out, "Why are you here?" She didn't have much of an answer, but her whole attitude changed. Girl # 2 tends to follow the first girl. When girl #1 isn't at the group, girl 2, is a great runner. SO, I told her that. She came around pretty quickly too.
Then the real run! Those two girls both ran a mile! Another girl ran 1.2, and another did 1.4!! There were 2 other girls, who each ran about .5 of a mile, but I don't think either one was feeling well.
At the end of the run, I pulled out 4x6 note cards and wrote:
4/13/2010
[name] ran 1 mile today!
And, half of it was uphill!
It was such a little thing. But, you know what: Each of those girls held onto those cards for the rest of the day. They showed their parents when they were picked up, and 2 said they were taking them in to show their PE teachers.
Sometimes, it's the little things that make all the difference.
-Peace
Friday, April 9, 2010
Feelin Groovy
My foot is still kicking my Arse! I have clearance to swim and do pool running. Let me tell ya, pool running is about as fun as going to the dentist. Okay, it's not quite that bad. But, it's not so great. I did purchase a waterproof case for my I-pod and sprang for the 2 day shipping. So, that will be here on Tuesday, and it should make the whole thing better.
I'll let you know how it works.
In the work world, I've had a great week. It started with a three day NYS TBI conference for all the clinical directors and Program Managers in the state. We were joined by our state director, three regional directors and the VP of clinical services in the northeast. The information covered during the conference was fantastic. I felt like it was the best, most productive conference I've been to in a long time. My colleague and I returned to our office with some great ideas for how to improve the quality of care that we offer. We met yesterday and developed our list of goals and our plans to address them.
This afternoon I forwarded the list to my office mates and our 4 supervisors who had organized the conference. Within 15 minutes, all 4 supervisors responded to the email with incredibly positive feedback. Within 30 minutes, the VP of the company had been sent the email, and responded to our office!
I'm so proud of this. In a national organization that provides health care services, it's pretty amazing to realize that we've put together some plans that are being recognized as "Stellar" by the VP. It was a great way to end the week!
I'll let you know how it works.
In the work world, I've had a great week. It started with a three day NYS TBI conference for all the clinical directors and Program Managers in the state. We were joined by our state director, three regional directors and the VP of clinical services in the northeast. The information covered during the conference was fantastic. I felt like it was the best, most productive conference I've been to in a long time. My colleague and I returned to our office with some great ideas for how to improve the quality of care that we offer. We met yesterday and developed our list of goals and our plans to address them.
This afternoon I forwarded the list to my office mates and our 4 supervisors who had organized the conference. Within 15 minutes, all 4 supervisors responded to the email with incredibly positive feedback. Within 30 minutes, the VP of the company had been sent the email, and responded to our office!
I'm so proud of this. In a national organization that provides health care services, it's pretty amazing to realize that we've put together some plans that are being recognized as "Stellar" by the VP. It was a great way to end the week!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Bookin Feet Part 2
A few weeks I wrote about Bookin Feet, the group I created for Girls, Inc. in town. I think it's time for an update.
We've been meeting weekly, and it's been awesome! We've been continuing to read "Sahara's Special" and the girls seem to enjoy it. The group can be as big as 7 girls on some weeks, but there are 4 girls that are there every time, and seem to really love running and reading. The fluctuation of attendance has made the reading a little difficult. The books stay at Girl's Inc for the week,so if some one misses a week, they've missed at least a chapter. I'd love to find a sponsor to purchase a book for each of the girls. Then, they could have it when we're done with the group.
They can now run .8 of a mile with out walking! Since we only meet once a week, I think that's pretty good. Many of the girls live in area's of the city that prohibit them from going out to play and run around safely. That means, they only get to exercise at school and during our sessions. As the weather is getting nicer, we'll be able to spend more time outside. That should help us improve our distances.
I love the enthusiasm these girls show. This past week it was raining, windy, and about 40 degrees out. As soon as I walked in the door, they were begging to go outside and run!So we did!Well, they ran. My foot is still broken, so I cheered them on, and kept time for them.
This week, I'm researching some area 5k's that are scheduled for around the end of our session. Next step, for me to contact a few of the races, and see if they will let the girls run for free. Wish me luck on that!
I've created a Facebook group. In the hopes of branching out and finding some people who might want to volunteer time, or purchase books, or help cover the cost of T-shirts for the race. Check it out and join!
Hey- it never hurts to dream!
We've been meeting weekly, and it's been awesome! We've been continuing to read "Sahara's Special" and the girls seem to enjoy it. The group can be as big as 7 girls on some weeks, but there are 4 girls that are there every time, and seem to really love running and reading. The fluctuation of attendance has made the reading a little difficult. The books stay at Girl's Inc for the week,so if some one misses a week, they've missed at least a chapter. I'd love to find a sponsor to purchase a book for each of the girls. Then, they could have it when we're done with the group.
They can now run .8 of a mile with out walking! Since we only meet once a week, I think that's pretty good. Many of the girls live in area's of the city that prohibit them from going out to play and run around safely. That means, they only get to exercise at school and during our sessions. As the weather is getting nicer, we'll be able to spend more time outside. That should help us improve our distances.
I love the enthusiasm these girls show. This past week it was raining, windy, and about 40 degrees out. As soon as I walked in the door, they were begging to go outside and run!So we did!Well, they ran. My foot is still broken, so I cheered them on, and kept time for them.
This week, I'm researching some area 5k's that are scheduled for around the end of our session. Next step, for me to contact a few of the races, and see if they will let the girls run for free. Wish me luck on that!
I've created a Facebook group. In the hopes of branching out and finding some people who might want to volunteer time, or purchase books, or help cover the cost of T-shirts for the race. Check it out and join!
Hey- it never hurts to dream!
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