It’s just been dormant for a while.
But after a not-so-subtle and much-needed kick in the pants from a friend (thanks Amy), I realize that it’s time to drag myself away from FaceBook and get back to posting. FB was never meant to be a substitute for the blog … I love writing short little status updates, but sometimes it’s nice to get a little free-form and say as much as I want.
It’s been almost two months, so this could take a while …
Jolly Good Fun
March wrapped up with a visit from my sister, and as usual we packed all sorts of food, fun, and festivities into a very short weekend! Kicked off Friday night with the requisite dinner at Chuy’s, then spent Saturday doing all manner of fun stuff … shopping at Betty Sport, packet pickup for the Cap10K, much more I can’t remember, some porch time of course, and finished the day off by going to see I Love You Man at Alamo Drafthouse. A perfect Austin day! Unbelievably, the one thing we didn’t do on this visit was go to Omelettry. That’s right, we passed on blueberry buttermilk pancakes this time around. Instead we opted for a crowded run at the Cap10K … was it always this packed? … and then skedaddled off to meet Faith and Rebeka for brunch at Maudie’s. That was followed my some more porch time for Jolly while I attended a baby shower for some friends. And the fabulous weekend finale? Crashing on the couch with some Pei Wei watching Sex and the City. Sigh …. just perfect.
And because I love seeing my sister but really can’t get enough of her gorgeous boys, I’m heading up to Philly in two weeks to spend the holiday weekend with my two favorite guys!
Zoom Zoom!
This may be hard to believe, but on April 4th I raced my very first 5K at the Zooma Austin 5K, part of the Zooma Women’s Race Series. Obviously I’ve run that distance before, and I’ve done a couple 5K races for fun, but this was the first time I raced one … where I had an actual time goal in mind. I can’t say I really trained … my sprained ankle in early March had put the kibosh on any real speed work … but I had in general spent the months since Bandera focusing on running faster. I had also dropped more than 10 pounds in the past couple months (on purpose), and I hoped that would translate into some additional speed.
The race took place at Hyatt Lost Pines resort outside of Austin. There are some great trails in that area, but this race was run on the road (there was also a half marathon taking place at the same time). I felt kind of nervous as the minutes counted down to the start of the race. I had set a goal to finish in under 25 minutes, which translates to running roughly 8 minute miles … a pace I hoped I could run but wasn’t sure. Oddly enough, it was my race number that calmed me down and gave me the confidence I needed to decide I was going to do this … Number 888 … one 8 for every 8-minute mile I would need to run. It had to be a sign, right? Right!!!
I positioned myself right up near the front, did the requisite waiting around, and then finally, we were off! I took off toward the front of the pack, with only a handful of people ahead of me, and not many close behind. This seemed weird, but my pace felt comfortably fast, so I just tried not to worry about it. I passed a few people, ran by the water stop, and then I saw the lead runner coming back towards me. I couldn’t believe I was almost at the halfway point! I hit the turnaround and headed back, and now I could see all the other runners heading towards me. One woman yelled out that I was the 6th female … seriously??? I just kept running, although my legs were starting to feel tired, and that great downhill was about to turn into an ugly uphill. My breathing started feeling labored and my legs were oxygen deprived but I just hung in and kept running. It’s only 5K damn it! Thankfully, the top of the hill came quickly, and then I got to the nice gradual downhill. Once again, I let gravity do the work as I focused on trying to regain my breathing.
I kept telling myself I had hardly any distance left to cover, and sure enough that flat soon turned into the last turn toward the finish. One more short downhill and then up and I was back where I started … except it wasn’t the finish line. I still had to run all the way through the parking lot … and then to the resort … and then around the resort. Would this ever end? Meanwhile the minutes were ticking by and I was starting to think I’d miss my goal after all. I passed the sign that said 13 miles, which meant I only had .1 to go … no time to slow down now. My watch said 24 minutes, and I was determined to make it. Around a curve and there was the finish line. One last push and I was across … in 24:57!!! Yippeeee!!!
I was gasping for air, but who cares? I had done it … a sub-25 minute 5K!
It gets even better than that. Turns out that I finished 11th overall (out of 379 finishers) and was the 7th place female (out of 357)! Granted, this wasn’t the fastest field … I’m excited by my finishing time but have no illusions that I am suddenly an elite athlete. But still … just like my 2nd place finish at Doogies back at the end of February, this is pretty exciting for me. I’m not used to seeing my name that high up in the race results. And I’ll take it.
It gets even better! After 9 years of racing, I finally got a race photo worth buying!
Okay, so the facial expression leaves a little bit to be desired (but give me a break … I’m breathing!), but the rest? I look like a real runner!
Primordial Sound Meditation
The rest of that weekend was taken up with something I have wanted to do for myself for a long time. I haven’t really written too much about it, but the last couple months have been a pretty transitional time for me. It’s all been pretty positive, but I just had some changes I needed to make … personally and professionally, externally and internally. And I’ve worked hard to make it a time of transformation as well as transition, if you will. I’ve written before that meditation has taken a more prominent role in my life, and in order to move my practice forward, I signed up for a course in Primordial Sound Meditation. It’s pretty similar to Transcendental Meditation (but this course is about 1/10th the cost), and instructors are certified through the Chopra Institute. It was a great course … Priscilla was a terrific teacher, and I ended up with mostly individual instruction. I’ve been working on my practice for the past month since, and while I’m rarely able to fit in the recommended twice a day, I am trying to create a dedicated practice and meditate at least once pretty much every day. I love it, and I hope it continues to be a regular part of my life.
Out With the Old, In With the New … Job That Is
Perhaps the biggest news to come out of this whole transformation process has been my decision that it was time to move on from my job. I’m not at all sorry that I took this job and moved to Austin, but it had become increasingly clear to me over the past several months that this was a situation that was never going to really meet my needs, and would always leave me feeling drained and not really happy. So after much soul searching, I decided that I wanted to stay at UT, but really wanted to get back to my pure development roots. And after six years, I also decided that I wouldn’t mind putting on my lawyer hat from time to time … and so I decided that Gift Planning was the path for me. I won’t go into the whole long story, but the short version is that I went to the Executive Director to let her know of my interest, and in a crazy example of the serendipity that often guides my life, a job had opened up the day before. I am not kidding. I never cease to be amazed at how when we put something out to the universe, once we define it and call it by name and ask for it, the universe gives us exactly what we want and need. And so I start my new job this coming Monday. More great adventures to come!
On Top of the World … Or Texas, Anyway
I could tell lots more running stories, but I’ll limit myself to this year’s trip to the Guadalupe Mountains of West Texas. The altitude got me on the first day, but the second day was fantastic … well, the whole trip was fantastic, but I’m just talking about the running here. Saturday I took my first trip up to Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas.
If I were just a few inches taller, I could have been the tallest point in Texas!
Here’s Elizabeth and I on our way to the top with some great views beyond us …
And here’s some happy runners at the top …
But this one might be my favorite …
You can see more on my Facebook album if you wish.
Lots more on the horizon, so y’all check back and I’ll try to be better about posting.
Hooray!!!! Thanks for surfacing – and congrats on the race and new job!!!!!