Six days since I last wrote. Last Monday I wrote and took a day of rest. Since then I did 6 on the track (3x1600 at 7:05ish was the main workout), 5 easy, 8 easy, 4 easy, and 10.1 and 12 in Ocean City, Maryland. That adds up to 45.1 since the last time I posted. That puts me well outside St Louis. At this point, I am on Missource Route 28 headed west (as almost always on this trip). About 6 miles from where MO-28 intersects US-50. The town I am in is called Owensville. Their Catholic church in town is Immaculate Conception. It is interesting to me to see how often this name is used. We have one in Baltimore. Neither of the two Catholic churchs in Ocean City are named Immaculate Conception. I passed two today on my run--St Luke and St Andrew. I don't know if there is a third. Immaculate conception makes me think of innocence. And a lot of the past week has been about growing up.
Let's begin with a week ago. The speaker at my oldest son's high school graduation began by singing the entire song Rainbow Connection from the Muppet Movie. It was touching. The speaker (who is not a professional singer) noted that it took a lot of guts to sing in front of a crowd of artists that inluded many music majors and numerous voice majors among that group. He had many things to say about the rainbow theme, but one of the biggest was a quote from Maya Angelou to try to be the rainbow in someone else's cloud.
The speaker also talked about excellence. At the Baltimore School for the Arts the students must strive for excellen in academics and art. And if one looks at where they are going and what they will be majoring in for college, it is clear that they have both sets of skills. My son was fortunate to be the valedictorian. His girlfriend posted a picture of "the valedcitorian and his girl." I commented that I had not realized it was a status symbol to be the "valedictorian's girl". She answered that it probably isn't and she is just so proud of him. We are fortunate to have a family where the older valedictorian and his girl have been supporting the younger valedictorian and his girl in their pursuits. The cycle of life.
The speaker also mentioned "generation C" with the "C" standing for connection. It was an interesting contrast with the teacher of the eighth grade from which my middle son graduated. He talked about connectedness and the importance of being connected in ways other than electronics. By whatever means, connections are key. And it is interesting to see how kids use the connections. How peple in general use the connections as individuals and the technolog both mature.
A few other growing up moments. First, growing up in the workplace. It was the first time that I really had to make an assessment of someone's skill and what their future long-term role in the organization would be. It was tough making the judgment. It was even tougher as the judgment was not as favorable as I like to make about everyone. I'm an optimist. But I made it. And I think it was right. And I think I have "grown up" in my managerial role as a result.
Also, there were issues raised with the curriculum at the school where my youngest will still be. A lot of strong words exchanged by email. Polite but strong. Thinking about what my youngest will be exposed to as he continues to grow up. And thinking about what we want for him and how much control we have or do not have. Talking with another parent we talked about when there is more heat than light. On Thursday I had run in the rain. It helped diminish some of the heat. Not sure I had much light to share, but the heat definitely decreased.
Finally, (it is now Monday morning June 9), I skipped running this morning. That was not planned. I had wanted to do 4-6 just to loosen up the legs after the 10 & 12 over the weekend. However, I think I had too much exposure to the sun yesterday. At dinner last night I started getting the chills. Sherry thought it was just because we were under ceiling fans and the temps were moderating. I don't think that was it as it continued when we got outside and back to the hotel. So, I went to bed all bundled up before 8 and rested (the sleep was off and on after midnight) until 6 this morning. I decided not to stress my body today. Hopefully a good decision. More to learn about time in the sun. The interesting thing is that I did not feel overly sunburned but some of what I had was symptoms of sun poisining. Of course, I also have symptoms of stomach cramping so maybe it was something I ate this weekend. I don't know. But I'm feeling better, albeit not perfect, this morning.
Let's begin with a week ago. The speaker at my oldest son's high school graduation began by singing the entire song Rainbow Connection from the Muppet Movie. It was touching. The speaker (who is not a professional singer) noted that it took a lot of guts to sing in front of a crowd of artists that inluded many music majors and numerous voice majors among that group. He had many things to say about the rainbow theme, but one of the biggest was a quote from Maya Angelou to try to be the rainbow in someone else's cloud.
The speaker also talked about excellence. At the Baltimore School for the Arts the students must strive for excellen in academics and art. And if one looks at where they are going and what they will be majoring in for college, it is clear that they have both sets of skills. My son was fortunate to be the valedictorian. His girlfriend posted a picture of "the valedcitorian and his girl." I commented that I had not realized it was a status symbol to be the "valedictorian's girl". She answered that it probably isn't and she is just so proud of him. We are fortunate to have a family where the older valedictorian and his girl have been supporting the younger valedictorian and his girl in their pursuits. The cycle of life.
The speaker also mentioned "generation C" with the "C" standing for connection. It was an interesting contrast with the teacher of the eighth grade from which my middle son graduated. He talked about connectedness and the importance of being connected in ways other than electronics. By whatever means, connections are key. And it is interesting to see how kids use the connections. How peple in general use the connections as individuals and the technolog both mature.
A few other growing up moments. First, growing up in the workplace. It was the first time that I really had to make an assessment of someone's skill and what their future long-term role in the organization would be. It was tough making the judgment. It was even tougher as the judgment was not as favorable as I like to make about everyone. I'm an optimist. But I made it. And I think it was right. And I think I have "grown up" in my managerial role as a result.
Also, there were issues raised with the curriculum at the school where my youngest will still be. A lot of strong words exchanged by email. Polite but strong. Thinking about what my youngest will be exposed to as he continues to grow up. And thinking about what we want for him and how much control we have or do not have. Talking with another parent we talked about when there is more heat than light. On Thursday I had run in the rain. It helped diminish some of the heat. Not sure I had much light to share, but the heat definitely decreased.
Finally, (it is now Monday morning June 9), I skipped running this morning. That was not planned. I had wanted to do 4-6 just to loosen up the legs after the 10 & 12 over the weekend. However, I think I had too much exposure to the sun yesterday. At dinner last night I started getting the chills. Sherry thought it was just because we were under ceiling fans and the temps were moderating. I don't think that was it as it continued when we got outside and back to the hotel. So, I went to bed all bundled up before 8 and rested (the sleep was off and on after midnight) until 6 this morning. I decided not to stress my body today. Hopefully a good decision. More to learn about time in the sun. The interesting thing is that I did not feel overly sunburned but some of what I had was symptoms of sun poisining. Of course, I also have symptoms of stomach cramping so maybe it was something I ate this weekend. I don't know. But I'm feeling better, albeit not perfect, this morning.
